Mary Anne Yarde's Blog: The Coffee Pot Book Club , page 127

Check out #HistoricalFiction author, John Anthony Miller's, fabulous book — In Satan’s Shadow #mustread @authorjamiller

In Satan’s ShadowBy John Anthony Miller

Berlin, 1943Amanda Hamilton is a Scottish violinist married to a Nazi Party official. Michael York is the British spy who risks his life to save hers.In Satan’s Shadow – a journey to the darkest depths of the soul.
ExcerptPROLOGUELondon, EnglandNovember 26, 1946
London was alive with optimism after the war ended: ruins in renovation, the hurt healing, the separated reunited, and the dead honored and mourned. The future offered so much more promise than the past, when two global conflicts in a generation left tens of millions dead, and many living who wished they were not. But hundreds, if not thousands, of Nazi leaders responsible for the recent cataclysm had vanished, eluding the net cast by the Americans, Russians, British, and French. It was feared they assembled in an unknown country and continent, birthing the Fourth Reich on the ashes of the Third.
Michael York stood in the Victorian Treasures book store, gazing at a display of recent releases. His face was solemn, his eyes showing a muted pain, as he opened the week’s bestseller. It was a book of photographs, Berlin in the last decade, as night fell and darkness draped the world.
From the store front window, he could see the Tower Bridge, the Thames winding underneath it. A double-decker bus stopped, blocking his view, and two Canadian soldiers got off, followed by some schoolchildren. The bus drove away, showing an American soldier in a red telephone booth, probably calling his British girlfriend. London was inundated with military personnel savoring a last look at the greatest city in the world before they returned home. Most were American, buoyant and brash but friendly, while others represented the British Empire: Canadians, South Africans, Australians, and some from the Caribbean. They wandered the streets, the world theirs for the taking, savoring every pleasure the global metropolis had to offer.
York’s eyes returned to the book. He opened the dust jacket and looked at the author’s picture. It was a good photograph, capturing a twinkle that lived in her eye, a smile that came so easily to her face, wavy black hair that cascaded upon her shoulders. Amanda Hamilton, born to Scottish royalty, had married a German, a leader in the Nazi party. Leaving her homeland behind, she spent ten years in Berlin, absorbing a new culture, starting a new life. Her photographs documented a world collapsing around her, civilization at its ebb, humanity at its worst. Now they were shared with mankind.
Michael York turned the pages, the pictures bringing the past to life, memories returning.  Germany’s evil geniuses were caught in poses the world had never before seen. Berlin’s finest buildings: Kaiser Wilhelm Church, the Reichstag, the Berlin Cathedral, and the Brandenburg Gate were shown in their original splendor, before Allied bombs destroyed them. And birds, not knowing they trespassed on a calamity, posed innocently but proudly.
He knew she never dreamed fate would place her on the enemy’s doorstep, friend to some of the most hated men on earth during the most tumultuous days in human history. A favorite of Hitler, admired by Goebbels and Göring, her photographs documented life in the upper echelons of the Nazi party, a world that none on earth ever dreamed existed. It was there that Amanda Hamilton, never the author of an evil thought, walked in Satan’s shadow.
Pick up your copy ofIn Satan’s ShadowAmazon UK • Amazon US

John Anthony Miller
John Anthony Miller was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to a father of English ancestry and a second-generation Italian mother. Motivated by a life-long love of travel and history, he normally sets his novels in exotic locations during eras of global conflict. Characters must cope and combat, overcoming their own weaknesses as well as the external influences spawned by tumultuous times. He’s the author of the historical thrillers, To Parts Unknown, In Satan’s Shadow, When Darkness Comes, and All the King's Soldiers, as well as the historical mystery, Honour the Dead. He lives in southern New Jersey with his family.
Connect with John: Website • Twitter • Amazon Author Page • Goodreads.

Check out Patricia Brandon's fabulous new book — The Center of Gravity #HistoricalFiction #WW2 @pgaddisbrandon

The Center of GravityBy Patricia Brandon

A young woman is tricked into service as a food tester for Adolf Hitler in his secret Wolf's Lair, where she will endure yet another atrocity. A French professor, whose best friend is a Jew fighting in the Alsatian Resistance, is forced to assist in the Nazi reconstruction of the priceless Amber Room in the Konigsberg Castle. All hide dangerous secrets. When their worlds collide, high risk plans for escape are made, with the unlikely help of the anti-Nazi brother of Hermann Goering. But will the darkest of secrets remain hidden, or will lives be forever changed when the truth is finally revealed?
Pick up your copy ofThe Center of GravityAmazon UK • Amazon US
Patricia Brandon
I’m a South Carolina gal – raised on good home cookin’, crazy family stories, Southern heat, humidity, and Gamecock sports! Prior to a freak physical anomaly (a blood vessel in my back decided to kink like a garden hose!) I camped, hiked, attended music festivals, played tennis, danced, and swam.
While I’m fighting to get better, I found I had much more sitting time to kill, so I decided to pursue writing. A high school English teacher once told me she wanted an autographed copy of my first book, and I never forgot that. Hope she’d be proud now. First, I wrote a memoir about my entire first year of paralysis, In the Valley of Achor, which is available on Amazon, also. I’ve received notes and letters about how candid and real the book is, that it made a difference for folks, which was the intent, as well as being an emotional outlet for me, too. It’s also humorous at times – life’s too short to be otherwise – and I hear that the comic relief was also appreciated!
The Center of Gravity is my first attempt at an historical fiction novel. I received a Carrie McCray Literary award for what became the prologue for this story, for which I am deeply grateful and proud. I’ve always loved reading history, especially now when there is so much “fake news’ through which to wade. My father (94!) is a POW from WWII, and his stories and those of others inspired part of this tale. The book spans the period from 1933 Europe, when Hitler and the Third Reich was just beginning to come to power, to 1976 in the Low Country (coastal) part of South Carolina. Most people are aware of the art that was stolen by the Nazis, and of the “degenerate” art that was forbidden, all of which is a part of this story. But sadly, other atrocities abounded, and those need to be known. So, the Lebensborn project, the Jewish Skeleton Collection, and the saga of the Wolf’s Lair food testers – 15 women that were forced to test Hitler’s food for poison – are all a part of this story, as well as a few other lesser-known events. I did a lot of research, and of course have tried to stay as close to the historical timeline and descriptions of real life figures as possible. The food testers were not actually kept near the Wolf’s Lair until after the 1944 “Valkyrie” attempt on Hitler’s life, so in order to fit the storyline, I had to alter the time of their stay slightly. Some who have read it say that they learned a great deal, loved the characters and story, and even want to see a sequel! We’ll see. I think it’s a tale worth telling and reading. I hope you do, too!
Connect with Patricia: Website • Blog • Twitter.

“It’ll be glorious fun!" Join #HistoricalFiction author, Paul Bennett, as he talks abut his upcoming book — Paths to Freedom – book 2 The Mallory Saga #amwriting @hooverbkreview

“It’ll be glorious fun”Paths to Freedom – book 2 The Mallory SagaBy Paul Bennett
A brief catching up – last year I was pleased to contribute a guest post on Mary Anne’s fine blog, in which I explained how I came to write the 1stbook in The Mallory Saga, Clash of Empires. You can check it out by clicking HERE— though a quick rundown of Clash goes like this… the three main characters are Daniel, Liam, and Elizabeth (Liza) Mallory and the story is about their trials and tribulations during the French and Indian War. Many of the major battles are part of the tale, e.g. the two attempts to take Fort Duquesne (later Fort Pitt) and the taking of Fort Carillon (later Ticonderoga), and feature the historical figures of the time such as Generals Braddock, Forbes and Amherst, and the young Virginian George Washington. Clash ends with Pontiac’s Rebellion, an aftershock of the British victory over the French, and finds our protagonist family recovering from the horrors and the joys of the prior seven years.

When I embarked on this journey, the road to authorhood, I really hadn’t given much thought to the hazards, pitfalls, ambushes, and the overriding need for an organized chart of characters that awaited this poor naïve scribbler of tales. Naturally, I most likely complicated the process by listening to my Muse. “Go ahead now,” she purred in my head, “a family saga will be glorious fun.”  Fun she says…hah, I say. Mind you I’m not complaining. After all, this was a completely new adventure for me, writing novels, and I didn’t have a map or GPS to plot my course through the ever increasing number of progeny my characters were producing. Rule number one for writing a family saga that is projected to encompass about 150 years of American history, is that the family has to still be around…has to procreate to ensure the family line continues. Oh, let’s complicate it even more by creating multiple family lines to follow as the children grow, marry and have their own children. It seems that humans, real, and apparently fictional ones as well, like to have sex, it is inevitable. I hope I can find enough historical events for the kiddies to get involved in. J
In Paths to Freedom the children of the three Mallory siblings begin to make their presence known, especially Thomas, the oldest child of Liza and Henry Clarke (see right there, already another family line to follow), but Jack and Caleb, the twin sons of Liam and Rebecca along with Bowie, the son of Daniel and Deborah are beginning to get involved as well. The French and Indian War, the historical setting for book 1, was over, and the Mallory/Clarke clan is looking forward to settling and expanding their trading post village, Mallory Town, now that the frontier is at peace. And for a time they had peace, but the increasing discontent in the East, not so much toward the increasing rise in taxes, but the fact that Parliament was making these decisions without any input from the colonies, slowly made its way west to the frontier. Once again the Mallory/Clarke clan would be embroiled in another conflict.
Another aspect of my saga is that the main characters are not always together in the same place or even the same event. In Paths my characters are spread out; some have gone East, some have gone West, some are sticking close to Mallory Town, so in effect there are three stories being told, and that means more plots, subplots, twists and surprises. One of the aspects of the lead up to The Revolutionary War, was the attempt by the British to ensure cooperation with the Native Americans, especially the Iroquois Confederation. The British had proclaimed that they would keep the colonies from encroaching on tribal lands, a strong inducement indeed. However, some tribes, like The Oneida, had established a good relationship with the colonists. I knew right away when I started book 2 that the relationship between the Mallory’s and the tribes would be part of it. Among the historical Native Americans who take part in Paths are the Shawnee Chiefs; Catecahassa (Black Hoof), Hokoleskwa (Cornstalk), Pucksinwah (father of Tecumseh), and the Mingo leader Soyechtowa (Logan).
I also realized that I needed to get someone to Boston, and the Sons of Liberty. Thomas Clarke, the eighteen year old son of Liza and Henry, was the perfect choice for the assignment (mainly because he was the only child old enough at the time). J Through him we meet the luminaries of the Boston contingent of rebels, Paul Revere, Dr. Joseph Warren, John Hancock, and the firebrand of the bunch, Sam Adams. Plenty of history fodder to be had…British raid in Salem…Tea Party…the famous midnight rides…culminating with the Battle of Lexington and Concord. Oh yes, plenty of opportunities for Thomas.


An untenable situation arises in Mallory Town resulting in Liam and his two companions, Wahta and Mulhern, finding themselves on a journey to the shores of Lake Michigan and beyond. Driven by his restless buffalo spirit, Liam has his share of adventures; encountering a duplicitous British commander, meeting many new native tribes, some friendly, some not so much. A spiritual journey in a land not seen by many white men.
 Writing stories like this, as it turns out, requires quite a few characters. Some are just cameo roles, but some take on a larger part in the narrative…a few of them, through their audacious behavior, actually demanded more page time. All of these characters need names. As in Clash of Empires, I have borrowed the names of some of my internet acquaintances in the writing world. So appearing in Paths to Freedom you will find, Martin Lake, Steven McKay, Rob Bayliss, and Paul Collard. It’s not surprising that each of them performs spectacularly, so much so that they clamored, cajoled, threatened, and generally made it known they were worthy of continuing on into book 3. We shall see. J

Many of the authors who I am acquainted with talk about the editing process as one that produces a polished manuscript ready for publication, but at the cost of many hours spent staring blankly at printed pages, holding off the urge to scream into the void – “what the heck is a dangling participle?” or “why are adverbs so bad?”  Normally I wouldn’t be asking those questions. Normally I would just be responding to all the gaffes, missed commas, and dangling adverbs that were pointed out to me by a real editor. Normally I wouldn’t be self-editing the third draft, but when my real editor is unavailable due to life events, I must do the deed myself. This doesn’t come naturally to me, and thus instead of an already completed, and published Paths to Freedom, I am slogging through the draft as quickly as possible, consuming vast quantities of coffee,  and gaining more and more respect for the job that an editor does. The bottom line is that I do not have a definitive date as to when Paths will be available, however, I do believe I will have it ready…oh heck, it’ll be done when it is done.
To keep up with all of the news, and excitement that is The Mallory Saga, here’s the link to my Facebook page
So, my peeps and fellow travelers – turn off the TV… put down the cell phone or tablet … Read a book, expand your mind and soul, and don’t forget to leave a review.  J

Clash of EmpiresA Novel of the French & Indian Wars


Thomas and Abigail Mallory move their family from their farm on the Susquehanna River to a frontier trading post near Fort Duquesne (modern day Pittsburgh) at a time when the French and the British both seek to control the lucrative fur trade along the Ohio River.  Clash of Empires is the story of the Mallory family as they are caught up in the conflict that would become The French and Indian War.  It is a tale of the three Mallory siblings, Daniel. Liza and Liam and their involvement in the conflict; the emotional trauma of lost loved ones, the bravery they exhibit in battle situations; the friendships they develop with the young, first time militia commander George Washington, and the friends, or enemies, made with many of the Native American tribes caught up the war. Clash of Empires is the first book in The Mallory Saga, a saga that will follow the Mallory clan through the making of the United States, and its rise to power in the 19th century.
Pick up your copy of Clash of EmpiresAmazon US   •  Amazon UK

Paul Bennet
Paul’s education was of the public variety and when he reached Junior High he discovered that his future did not include the fields of mathematics or science. This was generally the case throughout his years in school as he focused more on his interest in history; not just the rote version of names and dates but the causes. Paul studied Classical Civilization at Wayne State University with a smattering of Physical Anthropology thrown in for good measure. Logically, of course, Paul spent the next four decades drawing upon that vast store of knowledge working in large, multi-platform data centers, and is considered in the industry as a bona fide IBM Mainframe dinosaur heading for extinction. Paul currently resides in the quaint New England town of Salem, Massachusetts with his wife, Daryl. The three children have all grown, in the process turning Paul’s beard gray, and have now provided four grandchildren; the author is now going bald.
For more information, please visit the Mallory Saga Facebook page. You can also find Paul on his Blog, Twitter, and Goodreads.

Actor and author, Clive Mantle, is talking about that “notorious second novel.” There is also a chance to check out Clive’s fabulous new book — A Jewel in the Sands of Time #AncientEgypt #TimeTravel #GameofThrones @MantleClive

A Jewel in the Sands of TimeA Freddie Malone Adventure Book 2 By Clive Mantle

Thanks to his Uncle Patrick s mysterious map, Freddie is about to embark on another incredible adventure through time except this time, he's not alone. Join Freddie and best friend, Connor, as a feisty new neighbour, Ruby, threatens to disrupt the boys plans...

Clive Mantle brings all the drama of his TV, film and stage career to the second in a thrilling series of incredible time-travel adventures.

The notorious second novel.
I’ve been very lucky and suffered few nerves writing my second book. The pressure was always there, as the reaction to ‘Treasure’ was so positive. I was always gunning for a standard below which I knew I must not drop, but I planned more thoroughly and researched in great depth, and most importantly laid out the chapters and the adventures progression far more professionally than before.
When I occasionally ‘research dumped’ my agent was very clear in her instructions. It’s an adventure set in an amazing historical period, not a 272 page book showing us how much you’ve read about Egypt. Enough said.

Luckily by the time ‘Treasure’ had won the ‘Peoples Book Prize 2019’, ‘Jewel’ had been with my publishers for 4 months, and the final tinkering and proof reading, layouts, trims and polishes were all that remained. So that helped a great deal. I was never sat contemplating a blank page thinking, ‘Oh No! What shall I write? How do I follow that?’
I am very lucky that I really like my characters, including a feisty new addition called Ruby, who is a major force to be reckoned with. The ability to place them anywhere and at anytime in History is a glorious luxury. I’m not confined to the present, although about a quarter of the books are set in the 21st century. It is a formula that I’m pleased to continue and a very handy device to compare their present day experience with their existence placed in another ‘Time’, contrasting the pressures of modern day life and all that brings, with life as it was.

In ‘Jewel’ we travel to ancient Egypt in two bursts. Firstly to 1328 BC, midway through the short 10 year reign of King Tutankhamun, and secondly to 1125 BC. Here, Ramesses 1X is pharaoh, and the Egypt Freddie finds 203 years later is very different from before.Again, Freddie, Connor and now Ruby, are faced with a world of wonder, but also intrigue and danger, as the reason for Freddie’s adventure becomes clear. He is always called to champion someone not best placed to help themselves, and through his actions he becomes an integral and loyal friend to the young pharaoh and his wife Ankhasenamun.

 Pyramids, temples, tombs, power struggles, goodies, baddies, golden chariots, crocodiles, plots uncovered, rescues, riots survived, and fiercely forged loyal friendships are the backdrop to maybe the first Nile tourist cruise ever! Hopefully I’ve placed the reader deep in amongst Egyptian society and they will emerge with a strong sense of life as it felt, tasted and smelt.
We travel through the Egyptian seasons as well as the centuries, as ‘Ahket’, the ‘Inundation’, raises the water level of the Nile 35 feet at Waset [modern day Thebes] then the most populous and powerful city in the world. Karnak is close by, still to this day the largest religious structure ever built.
‘Jewel’ is set in two main Egyptian locations. In and around the Valley of the Kings, and then some 400 kilometres north up the River Nile to the Great Pyramid and Sphinx complex at Giza.
Immersing myself in all things ancient Egyptian was a real pleasure. It is such a vast and glorious period, spanning three and a half thousand years. It is a complicated process picking a spot to land on with a story.
But the one person that young and old want to know about, is Tutankhamun.
I read two complete histories of all the dynasties to make sure I wasn’t missing someone or something more interesting, and as amazing as the whole period is, I was inevitably drawn back to the golden Boy King.
His Tomb plays a large part in the book and I feel like I know where each of the 5000 relics and precious possessions were laid to rest with the king. But it’s the simple things almost that touch me most. The positioning of the statue of Anubis – in the form of a reclining hound, as near to the foot of the sarcophagus as possible, maybe echoing the loyalty shown to Tutankhamun by his own Tesum hunting dog called Dedu. Did Ankhasenamun command it to be placed there as close to its royal master as possible?

On the West wall of the Burial chamber, the wonderful depiction of the Solar barque on it’s journey towards Osiris, and underneath the 12 baboons each marking an hour of the night through which the world travelled until the rebirth of the God Amun as the sun rose again.


The position of the Scarab in Egyptian society was highly respected. The example of the dung beetle pushing its burden ever onward, was seen as displaying the great qualities of diligence and perseverance. The tiny insect was often celebrated in the form of jewelry and paintings, and I have placed one at the heart of my book.


It is now thought that he suffered from Temporal lobe Epilepsy. He certainly had a club foot and cleft palate from birth, but the previously held theory that a mark on a neck vertebrae thought to suggest foulplay, has now been marginalized as his possible cause of death. More likely is the far more mundane – Septicaemia – resulting from a badly broken leg, which ended his 10 year reign at the tender age of 19.
He had fathered two children by then, but neither had survived beyond birth. Ankhasenamun was more than likely his half sister, and so the disastrous policy of the royal family inter marrying continued. Little did they realize that the process severely weakened any offspring. The short reigns of most pharaohs would have been dramatically extended had they married into outside families and different blood lines, rejuvenating the health and longevity of the royal line.



Ankhasenamun was six years older than Tutankhamun, and after his death and against her will, she was forced to marry Ay - who succeeded the Boy King. Ay had been one of his joint Viziers, like prime ministers, along with Horemheb who controlled the Army.
On Tutankhamun’s death, Ankhasenamun pleaded by letter to the Hittite King to send one of his sons for her to marry, which he did. But Prince Zannanza was murdered on his way to Egypt. With facts like these to provide a secure backbone, it is exciting to then imagine the intrigue and plots, the loyalties and double dealings, and whilst never altering History in any way, provide a realistic glimpse of what the state of play was.
To me, Kha and Ankha [as I call them] were like ornate trapped birds in a golden cage. Gilded and bejewelled, but powerless, friendless and vulnerable…
Until… Freddie Malone arrives.

So that’s how I’ve spent the majority of the last year, and now my attention turns to all things London and 1665 and 1666. More of that another time. Safe to say it’s just as fascinating to research, and just as much fun to write.
I will be recording the Audiobook of ‘Jewel’ soon, to accompany ‘Treasure’ which is already available either through Amazon or from ‘Oakhill’ directly.







Thank you to all those who have bought the books so far, and those who voted in the Peoples Book Prize 2019. Your support is very much appreciated. Xc.


Excerpt
A Jewel in the Sand of TimePrologue
In a cold, dark basement, a long way from where you are reading these words, the Collector sat at his writing table inspecting a huge yellow gemstone under a solitary light. The elderly man scrawled on a piece of folded white card, using a quill dipped in a vivid turquoise ink.
And many years ago, in a silent and ancient tomb, also a long way from where you are reading these words, there lay a King in his dark resting place. A long dead Boy King who was always at the mercy of those who would seek to possess his impossible wealth.Close by the King, a precious jeweled trinket guarded the Pharaoh through the twelve stages of night on his journey to the next life.
The Collector wanted to turn back time and steal the priceless artifact for himself and deny the joy of its discovery to the rest of the world. He also craved a precious liquid, a legendary medicine, which if taken would prolong his life - the seconds, minutes and hours of which were trickling through his twisted fingers like fine desert sand as he neared his worldly end. He calculated that the two treasures could easily be collected together, or so he hoped.
Around him in the large basement were dozens of illuminated cabinets containing many of the world’s missing wonders, which he had acquired by one foul means or another. He moved towards the furthest display, stroking the glass of several others as he passed.
Even now, after all these years, there was still room for a treasure yet to be stolen. He unlocked the door of the last cabinet and with a shaky hand smoothed the velvet interior. 
On it he placed the huge yellow ‘Florentine Diamond’, tinkering with its position until he was satisfied that it caught the available light. Almost immediately his eyes moved from the priceless gemstone to the empty expanse to its right. He lovingly stroked the velvet cloth and whispered,
“Of course, be patient. Not long now. You will soon havea treasure.”
Pick up your copy ofA Jewel in the Sands of TimeAmazon


Clive Mantle


Clive Mantle is a much-loved British actor, a star of both stage and screen for over 40 years. He is perhaps best known for playing Little John in Robin of Sherwood, Great Jon Umber in Game of Thrones, Simon Horton in The Vicar of Dibley and Mike Barratt in Casualty. His voice is also well known from his work on over 180 audio books, and voicing animated characters, including Gator in Thomas the Tank Engine...

...And, he is now a published Author.

'The Treasure at the Top of the World' was released on 24th May 2018.
Connect with Clive: Website • The Adventures of Freddie Malone • Facebook •Twitter. 

#BookReview — Across the Fourwinds (The Maidstone Chronicles #1) by Shane Trusz and Darryl Frayne #Fantasy #Historical

Across the Fourwinds (The Maidstone Chronicles #1)By Shane Trusz and Darryl Frayne

Most high school grads hold a world of opportunity in their hands. Will and Morgan hold the fate of two worlds. 

Since his mother’s tragic accident, Will has been a loner. And for good reason: he claims to see strange creatures emerging from the forest near his home. Ostracism is a way of life until he meets Morgan, a fencing champion with everything going for her—except a dark family secret. 

In pursuit of answers, these unlikely friends enter the forest and discover a magical kingdom threatened by a powerful enemy. When a young sage reveals their true identities, Will and Morgan join a small but courageous resistance on a quest to save the Fourwinds. 

Can friendship and hope stop the swelling tide of destruction from breaching the portal into our world? 



“I believe what you saw was a creature called a harvester...”
Morgan Finley’s life had changed when her family moved to Cochrane, Cleveland, Ohio. Her father, who had been so supportive of her fencing career, and so loving, has became someone Morgan and her mother fear.
Will Owens’ life had been blessedly normal until his mother had died in a tragic accident, and his father, unable to live without her, killed himself. Now Will sees things that are not there — strange creatures with glowing eyes and evil intents crawling out of the Arden Forest. But, no one believes him because no one else sees what he does. The whole town thinks him mentally ill, as do the doctors. Ostracised by those he grew up with, Will must endure a terrible isolation. He is friendless and alone, that was until the day he met Morgan. Not long after that, the strange creatures crept into the town, and people began to die.
From the small sleepy town of Cochrane to the mysterious yet beautiful land of the Four Kingdoms, Across the Fourwinds (The Maidstone Chronicles #1) by Shane Trusz and Darryl Frayne is a story that is not only radiant in its narrative but reads with an almost lyrical sense of movement and grace.
Written with a great deal of imagination and energy, Across the Fourwinds is one of those books that a reader can quickly lose themselves in. I found myself transported to a land where anything was possible, and mythical creatures ruled supreme. You will find them all here — the elusive elves, the treacherous gnomes, the frightful minotaurs, the wary yet beautiful mermaids, and of course, the mighty dragon. This book is the epitome of fantasy.
But, this book is no fairy tale. These are dark days for an evil Dark Queen threatens to destroy not only the Four Kingdoms but Earth as well, and she is growing more powerful by the minute. Thrown through a gateway, Will and Morgan find themselves on an adventure of a lifetime as they join forces with Rowe of the Nest to destroy the Dark Queen — it is the only way to bring order and peace back to the land. Trusz and Frayne have penned some highly appealing characters. Will’s story pulled at my heartstrings. Everyone thinks he has lost his mind and avoids him because of this, at times, even Will believes he is ill — if no one else can see these demon-like creatures then surely they are just a cruel trick of his imagination? When Will finally discovers the truth and realises that he is gifted with the sight, the relief he feels is tempered only by the fact that he has no idea how to defeat these dark monsters. I thoroughly enjoyed watching his character grow with confidence throughout this story. Will is a young hero who a reader can really get behind. Likewise, Morgan is a wonderfully dynamic young woman who is brave and courageous, but also fearful of the world she finds herself in. Her outrage at the injustice she sees and her compassionate heart made Morgan an unforgettable character.
There is one other character that I have to mention, and that is Rowe. He is brave and honourable and kind — the perfect guide for Will and Morgan as they navigate this foreign land. I thought Rowe was fabulously portrayed. His compassion and his foresight made him an extremely likeable character.
The setting of this story is luxuriantly detailed, and even though it is fictional, it feels authentic. Kudos, Mr Trusz and Mr Frayne.
Across the Fourwinds (The Maidstone Chronicles #1) is a real treat for lovers of J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Hobbitand Lord of the Rings series.
I Highly Recommend.
Review by Mary Anne Yarde.The Coffee Pot Book Club.

Pick up your copy ofAcross the FourwindsAmazon UK • Amazon US

Shane Trusz
For as long as I can remember, I've had the soul of a gypsy. Having lived in Ontario, Quebec, Manitoba, Alberta, British Columbia, and Haiti, I seem most comfortable when there's change brewing on the horizon. 

My adventure into the world of writing began just as my life was coming to an end, or at least it seemed that way for a time. When I was 15, I was diagnosed with Recurrent Idiopathic Pericarditis. Overnight, I went from a typical teenager with great parents, growing up in Cochrane- snowboarding, mountain biking, and playing any sport with a ball- to being laid up in bed for weeks at a time in terrible pain. Living in the deep north, we were 8 hours away from an MRI machine and for a while, things didn't look so good as doctors struggled to figure out what was happening, and why. The pericarditis would come back a few times a year throughout my teenage years and for a while, I lost my way. I remember being rushed via air ambulance to Toronto and my Ante Linda had sent along a book for me, The Sword of Shannara, by Terry Brooks. I wasn't a reader back then, and when I finally succumbed to the boredom (imagine being in a bed for weeks in a world before the Internet), I finally cracked the cover and my world was forever changed. 

Life doesn't always end up the way we think it should, but isn't that part of the ride? Hard lessons are sometimes necessary to prepare us for the next big adventure as we journey towards leaving this world a little better off than when we arrived. 

After finishing the original Shannara Trilogy, I started writing. I can't remember when exactly I started, but I do remember having a plethora of ideas as I tended to do a lot of daydreaming, especially in school. I spent years writing books that will never see the light of day as I cut my teeth learning this new craft. To this day, if I don't get my ideas down on paper regularly, I feel out-of-sorts.

My greatest challenge as a writer stemmed from the fact that I loved to write massive stories, and conversely, struggled to no end with the countless tiny details of flushing out something great. Shortly after moving back to Canada from Haiti, I reconnected with an old friend, Darryl Frayne. I knew Darryl was just about the complete opposite of me, in that he loves to mine the gems found beneath the extra words that don't belong on the page. He works down in the weeds, pruning and clipping and shredding and planting and changing the paths as required to develop great story. The magic that unfolded was...well, I suppose you can be the judge. 

In the in-betweens, I married my high school crush back in 1998. Joy has added all manner of color to my life and to this day, makes life an absolute thrill ride. When our son came along in 2004, well, I love viewing the world through his animated features and cannot wait to see how he is going to leave the world better off than when he arrived.
Darryl Frayne
I was born in Ontario, Canada and have lived in various places in Ontario as well as brief stints as a post-secondary student in Wisconsin, Missouri, and British Columbia.

After university, I married my best friend and we settled in Langley, BC. I never imagined we would stay in Langley for long, but here we are, decades later. And I love it. 

I've worked in the graphics industry since university to help pay the bills and raise two amazing sons. But my love of research and writing has never faded. It led me to pursue an M.A. at Regent College in Vancouver (2007) and to write numerous articles online.

As far as I can remember, my journey into writing began when I was about 11 or 12 years old. I had always enjoyed stories, so I experimented with some comic-book style writing. I would draw my characters in small boxes, complete with talking bubbles for dialogue!

My favorite books growing up include The Wizard of Oz, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The Chronicles of Narnia, and The Lord of the Rings. As an adult, some of my favorite fiction writers include Terry Brooks, Patrick Rothfuss, and more recently, Michael J. Sullivan. I also have an affinity for YA stories with believable, endearing characters created by authors like J.K. Rowling, Kate DiCamillo, Rick Riordan, and Suzanne Collins. I could list so many others; there are far too many wonderful stories to read!

I am grateful for my timely meeting, subsequent friendship, and working relationship with Shane Trusz. He has a great gift for storytelling, conceiving grand adventures, and passionately spreading the word about our books. Although we are different in many ways, I am constantly surprised at--and thankful for--the way our gifts unite to form unique, enjoyable stories.
Connect with the authors: Website • Blog.

Check out Diana Rubino's fabulous book — From Here to Fourteenth Street #RomanticThriller #HistoricalRomance #Victorian @DianaLRubino

From Here to Fourteenth Street

By Diana Rubino
 
Now on Audio with the soothing voice of narrator Nina Price
It's 1894 on New York's Lower East Side. Irish cop Tom McGlory and Italian immigrant Vita Caputo fall in love despite their different upbringings. Vita goes from sweatshop laborer to respected bank clerk to reformer, helping elect a mayor to beat the Tammany machine. While Tom works undercover to help Ted Roosevelt purge police corruption, Vita's father arranges a marriage between her and a man she despises. As Vita and Tom work together against time and prejudice to clear her brother and father of a murder they didn't commit, they know their love can survive poverty, hatred, and corruption. Vita is based on my great grandmother, Josephine Calabrese, “Josie Red” who left grade school to become a self-made businesswoman and politician, wife and mother.
Excerpt
As Vita gathered her soap and towel, Madame Branchard tapped on her door. "You have a gentleman caller, Vita. A policeman."
“Tom?" His name lingered on her lips as she repeated it. She dropped her things and crossed the room.
"No, hon, not him. Another policeman. Theodore something, I think he said."
No. There can't be anything wrong. "Thanks," she whispered,  nudging Madame Branchard aside. She descended the steps, gripping the banister to support her wobbly legs. Stay calm! she warned herself. But of course it was no use; staying calm just wasn't her nature.
“Theodore something” stood before the closed parlor door. He’s a policeman? Tall and hefty, a bold pink shirt peeking out of a buttoned waistcoat and fitted jacket, he looked way out of place against the dainty patterned wallpaper.
He removed his hat. "Miss Caputo." He strained to keep his voice soft as he held out a piece of paper. “I’m police commissioner Theodore Roosevelt.”
"Yes?" Her voice shook.
"I have a summons for you, Miss Caputo." He held it out to her. But she stood rooted to that spot.
He stepped closer and she took it from him, unfolding it with icy fingers. Why would she be served with a summons? Was someone arresting her now for something she didn't do?
A shot of anger tore through her at this system, at everything she wanted to change. She flipped it open and saw the word "Summons" in fancy script at the top. Her eyes widened with each sentence as she read. “I can’t believe what I’m seeing.”
I hereby order Miss Vita Caputo to enter into holy matrimony with Mr. Thomas McGlory immediately following service of this summons.

An Author’s Inspiration
New York City’s history always fascinated me—how it became the most powerful hub in the world from a sprawling wilderness in exchange for $24 with Native Americans by the Dutch in 1626.
Growing up in Jersey City, I could see the Statue of Liberty from our living room window if I leaned way over (luckily I didn’t lean too far over). As a child model, I spent many an afternoon on job interviews and modeling assignments in the city, and got hooked on Nedick’s, a fast food chain whose orange drinks were every kid’s dream. Even better than the vanilla egg creams. We never drove to the city—we either took the PATH (Port Authority Trans Hudson) train (‘the tube’ in those days) or the bus through the Lincoln Tunnel to the Port Authority Bus Terminal.
My great grandmother, Josephine Arnone, “Josie Red” to her friends, because of her abundant head of red hair, was way ahead of her time. Born in 1895 (but it could’ve been sooner, as she was known to lie about her age), she left grade school, became a successful businesswoman and a Jersey City committewoman, as well as a wife and mother of four. She owned apartment buildings, parking garages, a summer home, did a bit of Prohibition-era bootlegging, small-time loan-sharking, and paid cash for everything. When I began outlining From Here to Fourteenth Street, I modeled my heroine, Vita Caputo, after her. Although the story is set in New York the year before Grandma was born, I was able to bring Vita to life by calling on the family legends and stories, all word of mouth, for she never kept a journal.
Vita’s hero Tom McGlory isn’t based on any real person, but I did a lot of reading about Metropolitan Policemen and made sure he was the complete opposite! He’s trustworthy and would never take a bribe or graft. I always liked the name McGlory—then, years after the book first came out, I remembered that was the name of my first car mechanic—Ronnie McGlory.
I completed the book in 1995, and my then-publisher, Domhan Books, published it under the title I Love You Because. The Wild Rose Press picked it up after I gave it many revisions and overhauls. My editor Nan Swanson did a fabulous job making the prose sparkle.
Changing the Title
When I proposed the story to Wild Rose, I wanted to change the title, since it went through so many revisions. I wanted to express Vita’s desire to escape the Lower East Side and move farther uptown. I considered Crossing 14th Street, but it sounded too much like Crossing Delancey. After a few more hits and misses, the title hit me—as all really fitting titles do.
What Was 1894 New York City Like?
The Metropolitan Police was a hellhole of corruption, and nearly every cop, from the greenest rookie to the Chief himself, was a dynamic part of what made the wheels of this great machine called New York turn. 
The department was in cahoots with the politicians, all the way up to the mayor's office. Whoever wasn't connected enough to become a politician became a cop in this city. They were paid off in pocket-bulging wads of cash to look the other way when it came to building codes, gambling, prostitution, every element it took to keep this machine gleaming and efficient. They oiled the machine and kept it running with split-second precision. The ordinary hardworking, slave-wage earning citizen didn't have a chance around here. Tom McGlory and his father were two of a kind, and two of a sprinkling of cops who were cops for the right reasons. They left him alone because he was a very private person; he didn't have any close friends, he confided in no one. He could've made a pocket full of rocks as a stoolie, more than he could by jumping in the fire with the rest of them, but he couldn't enjoy spending it if he'd made it that way. They knew it and grudgingly respected him for it. He was here for one reason--his family was here. If they went, he went. As long as they needed him, here he was. Da would stop grieving for his wife when he stopped breathing. Since Tom knew he was the greatest gift she gave Da, he would never let his father down.
Praise for From Here To Fourteenth Street
A Review From Romantic Times:
Immigrant Vita Caputo escapes New York’s Italian ghetto and secures a job in a Wall Street bank, along with a room in a Greenwich Village boarding house, thanks to Irish police officer Tom McGlory. With her new beginning, Vita even joins the Industrial reform movement.
Tom is an honest cop, with little interest in women until he meets Vita. When Tom’s cousin is murdered and Vita’s father and brother are arrested for the crime, the two team up to investigate and soon discover that they are falling in love.
Vita and Tom face economic problems, prejudice, and cultural differences. Ms. Rubino’s research is obvious. Kathe Robin
From Rhapsody Magazine:
FROM HERE TO 14th STREET by Diana Rubino is all that and then some. Everything about this book is what writing should be--original and wonderfully executed. Bravo! Karen L. Williams 
From Book Nook Romance Reviews:
Diana Rubino has done a masterful job of researching the life of Italian and Irish immigrants in turn-of-the-century New York, its society and politics and crime. She paints a vivid picture of the degradation immigrants of Italian descent suffered, particularly at the hands of the earlier Irish immigrants they succeeded. Barred from all but the most menial jobs, forced to live crammed into the worst slums, she makes it easy for the reader to understand why many of them turned to a life of crime and violence. Not only can the reader see what Vita and Tom see, they can smell it, hear it, and taste it.
Vita is a delightful heroine, as full of vivid life as the city she lives in. Stubborn, determined to escape the ghetto in which she lives and make something of herself, she never loses her commitment to and love for her family. That very devotion, however, threatens her growing relationship with Tom, since the Irish and Italians are the Capulets and Montagues of 19th century Manhattan. Although she cannot help falling deeply in love with him, she knows that her father and brothers will never permit her to spend her life with him. And, in a departure from the usual super-masculine hero, Tom is a sensitive, secret poet as well as a cop.
If you like vivid characters and a book that carries you effortlessly back to an earlier time, FROM HERE TO 14th STREET is a good choice. Elizabeth Burton
More about the Lower East side:
One fascinating place to visit is the Lower East Side Tenement Museumat 97 Orchard Street, once an actual tenement. They have tours describing life as it was back then, with each floor of the building decorated (if you want to call it ‘decorated’) to depict each time period when immigrants lived there.
I read a lot of books to research this story. One book I remember reading as a kid is How The Other Half Lives by Jacob Riis, a photographer and reformer of the time. The photos in his 1901 book vividly illustrate the poverty and deprivation of the times, for adults and children alike.
Pick up your copy ofFrom Here to Fourteen StreetAmazon Kindle • Amazon Paperback • Amazon Audio

Diana Rubino
My passion for history and travel has taken me to every locale of my stories, set in Medieval and Renaissance England, Egypt, the Mediterranean, colonial Virginia, New England, and New York. My urban fantasy romance, FAKIN’ IT, won a Top Pick award from Romantic Times. I’m a member of Romance Writers of America, the Richard III Society and the Aaron Burr Association. I live on Cape Cod with my husband Chris. In my spare time, I bicycle, golf, play my piano and devour books of any genre. The historical monarch I’d most like to meet is Richard III, my favorite of all time.
Connect with Diana: Website • Blog • Facebook • Twitter.

Join Historical Fiction author, John Drake, as he talks about his inspiration for his fabulous new book — The Traitor of Treasure Island @JohnDrakeauthor

The Traitor of Treasure IslandAn Author’s InspirationBy John Drake
‘The Traitor of Treasure Island’ is my latest book.  It’s a re-telling of Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic story, and it’s the fourth in a series because my previously published ‘Flint and Silver’ trilogy explains what happened before ‘Treasure Island’.



I wrote the trilogy because ‘Treasure Island’ left many questions unanswered.  First of all, why did the pirates bury their treasure?  Pirates lived short and dangerous lives. They didn’t plan for a nice little retirement flat in Eastbourne with a sea view and private medicine.  They didn’t plan for the future because they didn’t have a future.  So: why wasn’t the treasure instantly spent in the grog-shops and bawdy houses?  And who exactly was the terrifying Captain Flint who is constantly mentioned but never appears in ‘Treasure Island’?  And how did Long John Silver lose his leg, and where did he get the parrot that sat on his shoulder as his constant companion?



Having answered these questions in the trilogy, especially regarding Captain Flint (stunningly handsome, but murderously psychopathic) I wanted to complete the cycle by explaining what happened on the island, by which I mean what really happened,  because in my book Jim Hawkins who supposedly wrote ‘Treasure Island’,  is a nasty little swine who twisted the facts to cover his own villainy.  Thus I claim to have discovered the truth in the long-lost journal of Dr Livesey, surgeon to the treasure island expedition,  who never published in his lifetime partly because he never wanted to go on the island expedition in the first place, but mainly because he was in love with Jim Hawkins’s mother Charlotte, and he couldn’t bear to wound her with the reality of her son’s behaviour.  Livesey is a thoroughly decent man who was once guards officer but gave up soldiering because he was sick of killing.  So now he wants only to practise medicine and live happily with his lady, perhaps having their portrait painted by the artist Gainsborough, as any successful gentleman might hope to do.  



So I wrote ‘The Traitor’ to complete a series, but also because I have  always been fascinated by sail-and-timber seafaring since reading ‘Treasure Island’ as a boy.  ‘Treasure Island’ is a work of genius and I love it still and I recommend it to all the world.  Then later I read the Hornblower books by C.S. Forester and was gripped not only by the splendid stories but by the exotic vocabulary: t’gallants and tops’ls! Beat to quarters! Engage the enemy more closely! Two bells of the forenoon watch!  Fine words they are too, and to me they read like poetry.



The more I researched Georgian seafaring, the more I respected the men who sailed the great oceans sea in wooden ships that were pitifully small by our standards. An eighteenth century merchant ship might displace only a few hundred tons as compared with our hundred thousand ton cruise liners. But brave men sailed them everywhere: off perilous, rocky coasts or across the North Sea in winter, in the cold and the grey and the sleet, and the waves heaving up like mountains.  They even sailed right round the world to find tiny islands in the vast pacific, and they did this without radio, radar, satnav, diesel engines or any other power than human muscle, hauling on lines to catch the wind.  


That’s assuming of course, that the wind blew, because if it didn’t then the sails hung like wet washing and the ship didn’t move at all.  Then you were stuck.  You were becalmed.  You were helpless.  There was nothing you could do, and if you were becalmed far out at sea, then you prayed for a wind to come before ship’s stores ran out and all hands died of hunger or thirst.
Finally, since ‘The Traitor’ is very much about pirates it’s important to remember that despite the merry modern image of pretend pirates, real pirates weren’t very nice.  No merchant ship ever wanted a pirate to come alongside, because it isn’t very nice to be robbed with extreme violence.  To prove this, I give the example of two pirate flags. 




The first is the familiar skull and crossbones, which real pirates did genuinely use, though in many forms including full skeletons, multiple skulls, crossed blades or whatever variant a ship’s crew fancied. But yes they really used it.  They used it as a frightener and for swagger, but this black and white flag wasn’t the Jolly Roger.  The Jolly Roger was something else.  It was a plain red flag that the French buccaneers called ‘le Jolie Rouge’ meaning ‘the pretty red one’ and English speakers mangled the words into Jolly Roger.



The Jolly Roger had a special meaning.  When it was hoist and fluttered on the wind, the pirate ship was saying to its intended victim: ‘If all of you surrender, then we will spare your lives, but if any one of you fights back, then we will kill you all.’  And that really isn’t very nice, you must agree.  But these are the kind of pirates you’ll find in ‘The Traitor of Treasure Island’ so by all means read the book and immerse yourself in the pirate life.  But don’t wish you could be pirate,  or even meet one: not if he’s Captain Flint.
So thanks for reading this all the way to the end, but now mind how you go, especially in your dreams.


Traitor of Treasure IslandBy John Drake



The truth at last because the ‘Treasure Island’ story was a pack of lies written by Jim Hawkins, a dissolute lad who spent his Sundays not in church, but in the bawdy houses of Polmouth.
All is revealed in the newly-discovered journal of Dr Livesey - surgeon to the island expedition – explaining the map, the gold, and the hatred between Long John Silver and the psychopathic Captain Flint: bitter rivals for the love of Selena, once a plantation slave-girl but (for the moment) Silver’s wife.
Thus Livesey’s friend Squire Trelawney plans the sea-faring adventure but foolishly picks a crew full of pirates under Silver. Meanwhile Flint has kidnapped Selena and is sailing to the island with his own pirate crew.Once ashore, fighting begins with musket, cutlass and cannon, but events are turned by Jim Hawkins, and by the wild man Ben Gunn: long since marooned but not as mad as he seems.
So who does Selena chose?  Who gets the gold?  Or is there any gold at all?  And Livesey knows that if sadistic Flint wins the fight, then “them as die will be the lucky ones.”


Excerpt


Introduction:
I wrote this book because of the following words in a letter of  March 18th 1790, sent by the Captain of an outbound convict ship to his wife:
“The boy Jim Hawkins of Treasure Island, has grown to become the notorious Sir James ‘Slippery Jim’ Hawkins, perpetual Member of Parliament for Trelawney West, who - following his recent trial -  is to be transported to Australia for crimes too depraved to be named.”
I wrote the book because of those words and because of an uncanny experience that I had in summer 2017, when I felt that one of the un-dead was out of its grave and knocking at my door.  I felt this because a certain object was delivered to my home by FedEx:  a seaman’s chest, very old, and much like any other seaman’s chest, except that it had the initial ‘B’ burned on the top of it with a hot iron, and the corners were smashed and broken by rough usage.  But it shocked me with amazement because I knew whose chest it must be, and I could barely believe it.
The chest was sent on spec by a dealer, familiar with my books on Long John Silver and the asking price was not cheap.  But once I had seen the documents inside, I paid up without question.  Indeed, the very first paper I handled was the letter mentioned above, and it seemed uncanny in itself, that I should glance at this document before all the rest, because there were plenty of them.
It and all the other papers were collected by Dr David Livesey, ship’s doctor on the Treasure Island expedition, and placed in the sea chest with Livesey’s Journal of the expedition. Finally, in 1758, Livesey instructed Lucey and Lucey, solicitors of Polmouth in Cornwall, to safeguard the chest for one hundred years, before publishing its contents using money left by Livesey for the purpose. Livesey added more papers to the chest in later years, including a copy of the Treasure Island map commissioned by Squire Trelawney who gave the original to Jim Hawkins, and Flint’s map of perils to navigation, north of the Treasure Island. 
But Lucey & Lucey went out of business in 1847 when Livesey’s instructions were lost, so the chest sat in a vault for two hundred and fifty-nine years until it came to me.
What follows is therefore Livesey’s own story, taken from his Journal,  and interspersed with chapters written by me describing wider events based on sources in the sea chest. These chapters are merely my own efforts, but they are as accurate as I can make them, and I have placed one such chapter right at the beginning of the book to give details of Jim Hawkins’s parentage, unknown to modern readers.
One last point before I stand aside: inflation has done such ghastly work that one golden Guinea of George II’s time was worth - in theory - over one thousand  21st century pounds. But gold was scarce, with much business done on credit at high prices, so ready money was worth even more.  Thus Jim Hawkins’s ‘silver fourpenny’ (see Chapter 4) sounds miniscule but was worth over twenty modern pounds, while Flint’s treasure which was in gold, silver and precious stones, had colossal buying power, which must be valued, in modern terms, in billions.
John Drake, Cheshire, England, May 2018.


Giveaway


John Drake is giving away one print copies of his fabulous new release
The Traitor of Treasure Island

All you need to do is answer this question:
If you could go back and live in some other period of time - assuming of course, that you would be comfortably wealthy - which period would you choose and why, and which aspect of our own time would you miss?
Leave your answer in the comments at the bottom of this post.

Giveaway Rules

• Leave your answer in the comments at the bottom of this post.• Giveaway ends at 11:59pm BST on August 12th.You must be 18 or older to enter.• Giveaway is only open Internationally.•Only one entry per household.• All giveaway entrants agree to be honest and not cheat the systems; any suspect of fraud is decided upon by blog/site owner and the sponsor, and entrants may be disqualified at our discretion.•Winners will be announced in the comments.
• Winner has 48 hours to claim prize or new winner is chosen.

Pick up your copy ofThe Traitor of Treasure IslandAmazon UK• Amazon US




John Drake

I trained originally as a biochemist, to graduate, doctorate then post-doctorate research level pushing myself to my limits, before finally realising that I thoroughly disliked scientific research.  I disliked it because the focus is too narrow: you are trying to discover almost everything about almost nothing, and you can’t talk about it to your friends because you don’t inflict that level of boredom on people you like.
So, from 1975 I worked for ICI Pharmaceuticals and after some managerial jobs,  I had a wonderful time in the TV production unit making documentary videos, and they were genuine documentaries too, and full of scientific novelty, so I was proud of them.  Also, the job involved travelling the world: Paris, Sydney, Tokyo, Los Angeles and beyond,  flying first-class, and staying at top hotels, to interview medical opinion-leaders in their home bases.  I loved it.  Later still I was anchor-man for ‘PharmaVision’ the ICI Pharmaceuticals live-TV broadcast service.  Yes, a pharmaceutical company really did have a live-TV broadcast service.  We had our own studio too, and it was  state of the art.  Don’t ask why, and it didn’t last long, but it was terrific fun.
In 1999 the fun ended, and I left ICI Pharmaceuticals (which by then had become AstraZeneca) and I have been a full-time writer ever since. 
Second only to my family (I am married with a son and two grandchildren) writing is the most important thing in my life. It is total compulsion and total satisfaction.  After that, my leisure interests are ballroom dancing, target shooting with muzzle-loaders, and a fascination with history and with British politics (the latter strictly as a spectator).  I also study online news, TV news and newspapers, because truth is better than fiction and a writer has to get his ideas from somewhere.
Connect with John: Twitter • Amazon Author Page • Goodreads.

<!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-536870145 1107305727 0 0 415 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin:0cm; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} a:link, span.MsoHyperlink {mso-style-priority:99; color:#0563C1; mso-themecolor:hyperlink; text-decoration:underline; text-underline:single;} a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed {mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; color:#954F72; mso-themecolor:followedhyperlink; text-decoration:underline; text-underline:single;} .MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} @page WordSection1 {size:595.0pt 842.0pt; margin:72.0pt 72.0pt 72.0pt 72.0pt; mso-header-margin:35.4pt; mso-footer-margin:35.4pt; mso-paper-source:0;} div.WordSection1 {page:WordSection1;} </style></div><br />

Join Historian, Matthew Lewis, as he shares the inspiration behind his fabulous new book — Stephen and Matilda:Cousins of Anarchy #History #NewRelease @MattLewisAuthor

Stephen and MatildaCousins of AnarchyBy Matthew Lewis

The Anarchy was the first civil war in post-Conquest England, enduring throughout the reign of King Stephen between 1135 and 1154. It ultimately brought about the end of the Norman dynasty and the birth of the mighty Plantagenet kings. When Henry I died having lost his only legitimate son in a shipwreck, he had caused all of his barons to swear to recognize his daughter Matilda, widow of the Holy Roman Emperor, as his heir and remarried her to Geoffrey, Count of Anjou. When she was slow to move to England on her father's death, Henry's favourite nephew Stephen of Blois rushed to have himself crowned, much as Henry himself had done on the death of his brother William Rufus. Supported by his brother Henry, Bishop of Winchester, Stephen made a promising start, but Matilda would not give up her birthright and tried to hold the English barons to their oaths. The result was more than a decade of civil war that saw England split apart. Empress Matilda is often remembered as aloof and high-handed, Stephen as ineffective and indecisive. By following both sides of the dispute and seeking to understand their actions and motivations, Matthew Lewis aims to reach a more rounded understanding of this crucial period of English history and asks to what extent there really was anarchy.
An Author’s Inspiration
The Anarchy. Now there’s a name to conjure with. It’s a proper, meaty name for a civil war. The Wars of the Roses sounds a bit flowery, and by the seventeenth century, we could do no better than The Civil War. The anarchy leaves you in no doubt as to what kind of chaos and barbarism was going on. Naming internal conflicts in England seems to have peaked in the twelfth century.
My previous focus has generally been around the Wars of the Roses in the fifteenth century and some of the key individuals within that period. I think this interest in a period of civil war and an appreciation that it was far from the simple, clean, Lancaster vs York story that often makes the headlines lent The Anarchy a fascination for me. If the Wars of the Roses isn’t what it is generally perceived to be, was The Anarchy similarly complex and misrepresented?
I approached the book as almost a joint biography of the two main protagonists – King Stephen and Empress Matilda. The narrative switches focus between each side of the civil conflict in each chapter to try and retain a balance in examining the motives and escalating actions of the cousins. Traditionally, Stephen is seen as a nice guy who made a rubbish king – too weak, too easily led and too ineffectual. Matilda has long been seen through the eyes of the monkish chroniclers who wrote down their accounts of the events – abrasive, belligerent and unwomanly.
That last charge is the most interesting and probably the one that clings most tightly to the Empress’s reputation still, nearly 800 years later. It is a symptom of the misogyny of the Church, and, to be fair, the wider population, that whatever Matilda did in her efforts to gain the inheritance she believed was rightfully hers would doom her to criticism based on her sex. In 1141, when she came within a hair’s breadth of the throne, she attracted intense criticism for her attitude and behaviour. If you break down what she was accused of – being authoritarian, making decisions herself, punishing her opponents – they are all things a new king would have been praised for. In fact, some of them are things Stephen is criticised for failing to be.
The problem for Matilda was that men couldn’t fathom how they would be subservient to a woman. If she behaved like a queen, in the sense of the consort of a king, men would lack a real leader to make decisions, since a queen was supposed to support her husband’s role as king. If she acted like a king, who happened to be female, she was condemned as lacking femininity and acting in such an outrageous manner that men could not follow her. Perhaps she might have looked for a third way, a compromise, but she would doubtless have been criticised for that too. Being a woman was Empress Matilda’s Catch 22.
Her problems were exacerbated by Queen Matilda (because I’m on familiar ground here, with almost everyone sharing three or four different names!). Stephen’s wife, Matilda of Boulogne, offered a perfect contrast to the problems men saw in Empress Matilda. She was able to appear, to their sensibilities, reasonable in making efforts to protect her husband and children’s interests. She even managed to put an army in the field, something the Empress couldn’t manage, because the queen did it in her husband’s name.
Empress Matilda settled on Lady of the English as the title she planned to use. It differentiated her from a queen in the accepted sense of being a king’s wife but avoided describing her as a king with all of the uncertainties her sex would bring to that label. Lady of the English harked back to Æthelflæd, the tenth-century Lady of the Mercians. The oldest daughter of Alfred the Great, she ruled the kingdom of Mercia from 911 to 918 and provided a template for the female exercise of power. The daughter of a great king, just as Matilda was, it offered a way for men to understand the exercise of royal authority by a female, but England bottled it at the last moment and Matilda was driven out of London on the eve of her coronation.
The cast of supporting characters in this dynastic drama is rich. As Queen Matilda was to King Stephen, so Robert, Earl of Gloucester was to his half-sister Empress Matilda. He was an illegitimate son of Henry I and provided the Empress with a mechanism to put armies on the field, though Robert frequently found himself fending off suggestions that he should be king himself. Henry, Bishop of Winchester was King Stephen’s brother, but was often found in the camps of his enemies. Was he betraying his brother to suit his own prospects, or was there much more to the apparent changes of side, keeping his brother’s cause alive from within his enemy’s court?
One story that leaps out from the catalogue of despair penned by William of Malmesbury is that of Robert Fitz Hubert. Described as a ‘cruel and savage man’, Robert was known to boast that he had once burned eighty monks alive inside their church and he threatened to do the same to William’s home at Malmesbury Abbey. Robert was apparently well known for torturing those he captured, and one of his favourite methods of inflicting misery was tie his victim up outside in the sun. He would then smear them with honey and stir up insects to bite and sting them. When Robert died, William saw it as divine justice for an evil man, as chroniclers were fond of doing. I read it and thought it’s the sort of thing we do to celebrities on reality shows these days.
The Anarchy is a fascinating period brimming with complex and captivating characters. One of the main questions I tried to address was just how anarchic it was. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle famously lamented that for nineteen years, men said that Christ and His saints slept. I wanted to try and discover just how lawless and brutal those nineteen years really were, and what I found was surprising.
Pick up your copy ofStephen and MatildaCousins of Anarchy

Book Depository • Amazon

Matthew Lewis
Matthew Lewis was born and grew up in the West Midlands. Having obtained a law degree, he currently lives in Shropshire with his wife and children. History and writing have always been a passion of Matthew's, with particular interest in the Wars of the Roses period. His first novel, Loyalty, was born of the joining of those passions.
Connect with Matthew: Website • Facebook • Twitter.

#BookReview — A Phoenix Rising (The House of the Red Duke, #1) by Vivienne Brereton #HistoricalFiction #Tudors

A Phoenix Rising(The House of the Red Duke, #1)By Vivienne Brereton

“If I have anything to do with it, we Howards will live forever.”

Thomas Howard Charismatic head of one of the most powerful Houses in Tudor England. An indomitable old man approaching eighty: soldier, courtier, politician, a ‘phoenix’ rising from the ashes. After a calamitous period of disgrace, the Howards, renowned for their good looks and charm, are once more riding high at the court of Henry VIII.

Set against the backdrop of the extraordinary 1520 ‘Field of Cloth of Gold’, it is a tale of ambition, love, and intrigue, with Thomas at the centre of this intricate tapestry

Will Thomas’s bold vow be fulfilled? Danger stalks the corridors of the royal courts of Europe. Uneasy lies the head beneath a crown. Every other ruler - a fickle bedfellow…or sworn enemy.

The action takes place in England, Scotland, and France. On either side of the Narrow Sea, four young lives are interwoven, partly unaware of each other, and certainly oblivious to what Dame Fortune has in store for them.

“Nicolas de La Barre laid his lute to one side, hardly bothering to stifle a yawn of boredom. Nevertheless, he couldn’t escape the fact he’d agreed to take on a new wife….”

Explosive family secrets are concealed behind the ancient walls of castles in three lands. But…
“There are no secrets that time does not reveal.”

“Red Duke...a Field of Red. A future generation of Howards on the throne of England. Me in charge of a country. And now a Field of Gold.”
Thomas Howard should have paid more attention to what the old witch, Mairghread, had foreseen all those years ago. But her words had seemed so far-fetched. So implausible. And yet, everything she predicted is coming true.
Thomas has lived through the reign of six kings — he has served four of them. He was an old man now, older than most. Nearing full four scores was an achievement in this troubled time. And yet, the young King Henry has entrusted him to look after his kingdom while he travels to France to strengthen the friendship between himself and Francis I at the Camp du Drap d’Or — Field of the Cloth of Gold.
Thomas had vowed long ago that he would restore the Howard’s fortunes, and he has. But Dame Fortune is a fickle mistress. Thomas knows that the Wheel of Fortune could bring you unimaginable wealth and power. But with a single turn, you could find yourself in a cell in the Tower of London. However, such things did not deter him. Thomas was determined that The House of Howard would become the most prominent and influential Houses in England second only to The House of Tudor.
From the rugged Cornish Coast, the comfort of Stirling Castle, the delight of Ardres Castle, and the splendour of Thomas Wolsey's Hampton Court Palace, A Phoenix Rising (The House of the Red Duke, #1) by Vivienne Brereton is the sweeping saga of four rival European courts and the people who helped to shape them.
For a debut novel, A Phoenix Rising (The House of the Red Duke, #1), is an absolute triumph and one Vivienne Brereton has the right to be justly proud of. Not only does Brereton write with incredible energy and imagination, while staying true to the documented history, she also has a keen eye for what is entertaining. Kudos, Ms Brereton.
Brereton deserves the highest of praise for her mesmerising narrative and her authentic historical detailing. Penned in the first person, Brereton has explored over twenty years of British and European history. It is a tale told for the most part from the perspective of Thomas Howard — 2nd Duke of Norfolk. Brereton lets her readers glimpse into a world that is filled with danger and intrigue. But it is also a story of personal triumph, as well as desperate and unforgettable heartbreak. A Phoenix Rising (The House of the Red Duke, #1) is a novel that is next to impossible to put down. It is also one that is going to be very difficult to forget.
A Phoenix Rising is a historical fiction lover’s delight. They are all here, within the pages of this remarkable book — The House of Tudor, The House of Stewart, The House of Habsburg, The House of Valois, The House of Stafford, The House of Bullens (Boleyn), and of course The House of Howard. And like chess pieces upon a board, they all must play their part. Titles and wealth are theirs for the taking for those who are of course brave enough to reach for it.
There is a huge cast of characters in this book, and although I would say I know this period of history reasonably well, I did fear that I was going to have trouble keeping up with who was who. There are a few time-slips as well, so this is a novel that demands your complete attention. Saying that however, there is a rhythm to this story, an almost musical quality, that is incredibly hypnotic. The characters are so distinctive that my fears were soon laid to rest. Before I knew it, I found myself completely immersed in this wonderful world that Brereton has penned.
I adored Brereton's characterisation of Thomas Howard. He is this wily old soldier come diplomat who knows only too well how to play this medieval game of thrones. I certainly enjoyed his attempts to outwit Thomas Wolsey — or the Snake, as Thomas calls him in this book! The scenes with Wolsey are certainly memorable, as is Thomas’ realisation that he and Wolsey have more in common than either would care to admit!
As I have stated, it is not just Thomas Howard’s life we glimpse. Brereton has been incredibly ambitious and told her story from several perspectives, and because it spans two decades, some of the narratives are told through the eyes of children. These children grow up within the pages of this book. As a reader, we get to watch them mature. By doing this, we can have a seemingly intimate knowledge of why they turned out as this did. I thought this worked incredibly well. I particularly enjoyed reading Nicolas’ story, as well as his rival and "brother" Tristan.
I cannot praise this book enough. It was absolute fabulous. If you are looking for your next Tudor fix then check out A Phoenix Rising (The House of the Red Duke, #1) by Vivienne Brereton.
I Highly Recommend.
Review by Mary Anne Yarde.The Coffee Pot Book Club.

Pick up your copy ofA Phoenix RisingAmazon UK • Amazon US

Vivienne Brereton

I’ve always loved the Tudor period, from a very early age, have a degree in medieval history. I’ve lived in six different countries in my life and soaked up the history in each one. I now live in France which made writing about three different countries and cultures easier for me. I’ve always worked with words wherever I’ve lived: teaching, editing, writing. 
I’m married with three sons so plenty of scope for Nicolas and Tristan! Anne Boleyn was the only character I found slightly elusive. All the others were so vivid, I had no problem getting into their heads. Of the kings, James was my favourite and after all my reading I hope I did him justice. All were brilliant men. Renaissance men, so cultured. What would they make of ours today? Harry could easily pass for Henry’s naughty little brother. Not sure Charles would make the grade. 

Connect with Vivienne: Website • Blog • Goodreads. 

The Coffee Pot Book Club Book Cover of the Month for July is — The Brotherhood of the Black Flag by Ian Nathaniel Cohen

The Coffee Pot Book Club
Book Cover of the Month
Goes to...
The Brotherhood of the Black FlagBy Ian Nathaniel Cohen

Thrills, treachery, and high-seas swashbuckling adventure await in the Golden Age of Piracy's final reckoning!

His once-promising naval career in tatters, Michael McNamara leaves the newly-United Kingdom behind in search of a new life. With no other skills but the sword, he joins forces with a pirate turned pirate hunter, determined to rid the Caribbean of the Brotherhood of the Black Flag once and for all.

Eager for a worthy cause to fight for, McNamara pits himself against treacherous seas and battle-hardened buccaneers... and uncovers an international conspiracy that threatens the lives of thousands."Cohen delivers a solid, compelling, and briskly paced story that blends adventure and romance within a rich historical setting."The BookLife Prize 
Pick up your copy ofThe Brotherhood of the Black FlagAmazon UK • Amazon US • Barnes and Noble • Kobo

Ian Nathaniel CohenIan Nathaniel Cohen is a native of Miami, Florida, where he grew up immersing himself in swashbuckler literature and film. He graduated from the University of Central Florida in 2003 with a BA in Radio/Television Production and a Minor's Certificate in Applied Computer Science. He also received his MA in Asian Studies from Florida International University in 2006, where he teaches the course Asia Through Film as an adjunct lecturer. In 2010, his essay "Heroes & Villains of the East", analyzing the evolving depiction of the Japanese in Chinese and Hong Kong martial arts cinema, was published in FIU's Japan Studies Journal.

He also writes a review blog, the INCspotlight, focusing on classic films, comic books, and video games.
Connect with Ian:  Twitter • Goodreads.