Mary Anne Yarde's Blog: The Coffee Pot Book Club , page 25

Welcome to Day #15 of the blog tour for The Search (Across the Great Divide, Book II) by Michael L. Ross #HistoricalFiction #BlogTour #CoffeePotBookClub @MichaelLRoss7

 

 

February 1st – February 19th 2021
Publication Date: December 15, 2020Publisher: HistoricalNovelsRUSPage Length: 217 PagesGenre: Historical Fiction, Christian Historical Fiction, Historical Romance
Where do you go when home is no longer an option?
The guns of the Civil War have ceased firing, and the shots are but an echo... yet the war rages on, deep inside Will Crump's soul. His "soldier's heart" is searching for peace, and in that quest Will joins the westward movement, setting his path on a collision course with adventure, loss, and love.
The Westward Expansion floods the sacred, untouched lands with immigrants, bringing conflict to the Shoshone, Sioux, Cheyenne, and Arapaho. Amidst the chaos Will finds safety in the shadow of the US Army, but the army brings battle-hardened troops into Red Cloud's War, pulling Will into a tornado of conflict. Broken treaties and promises leave both sides searching for answers. Will's search leads him to a battle for survival, and there he finds a love that could change him forever.
Dove, a young Shoshone woman, is a survivor of the Bear Creek Massacre. After being kidnapped and escaping from the Cheyenne, she joins Will's search, seeking where she belongs. Dove longs for more than the restricted role placed on women in her tribe. If she can learn to trust a white man, he just might help her find home... and hope.
Together, Will and Dove must search for understanding, and reach Across the Great Divide.
We are ending our tour over on B for Book review for a fabulous review.
Click HERE!

Have a sneak-peek between the covers of The Woodsman's Rose (Donovan Family Saga Book 2) by Gifford MacShane #HistoricalFiction #WesternRomance @AuthorGMacShane

Publication Date: January 25th 2021
Publisher: Independently Published
Page Length: 329 pages
Genre: Historical Fiction / Western Romance
1880s Arizona
Daniel Donovan wants nothing more than to get married, unless it's to restore his friendship with his closest friend, Alec Twelve Trees.
Alec is raging about his mother's murderer, whose identity Daniel knows but will not reveal, as the killer is dead and the family he left behind would be compromised if the knowledge became public. But Alec cannot recognize any needs but his own, and the rift between the friends grows wider every day.
Daniel's fiancée, Annie, is a delicate girl, her health frail and her future uncertain. Prone to vicious headaches that at times rock her to her knees, she’s accepted Daniel’s ring but is hesitant to name their wedding date, worried that marriage and possible pregnancy will exacerbate her physical problems.
Annie inherited the gift of insight from her Welsh mother and digs into the past, searching for a way to help Alec and Daniel mend their relationship. But when she discovers the secret behind the murder, it’s more horrifying than she could have imagined.
It may take more than Annie’s small strength and inherited skills to bring the friends together again. And that’s before a new enemy shows his face.

Daniel found himself drawn inexorably into the planning for Frank’s wedding. He was amazed at the energy his mother and sisters poured into the smallest of details, and chuckled when his advice on such things as the color of Irene’s dress was accepted. But when Evelyn asked him to help stitch the hem of lace on the crinoline she and Molly were making for Patricia, he simply stared at her.
“Daniel,” she begged, but he was reaching for his hat and rifle.
“I’m going for a walk.” He heard her muttering behind his back about useless men and ungrateful brothers.
Some minutes later he laughed aloud, for his feet had taken the trail that led to town and he was on his way to Annie. Owen had gone to Tuba City on business and the shop was closed, so he knew he’d find her at her brother’s farm. But he hadn't, after all, managed to escape the lure of the impending marriage.
“Oh, Daniel, I’m so glad you’re here.” Annie was flushed with excitement, her ivory skin glowing peach. The few light freckles across the bridge of her nose made a startling contrast to the streak of white flour on her forehead. She wiped her hands ineffectively on her apron, then pulled him through the door and into the kitchen.
Credit: Ray Shrewsberry, Pixabay.
“Look at the cake pans Tommy made for me.” She flitted from the counter to the table, talking all the while, gesturing with her long, slender hands, sending a small flurry of flour out to coat every surface. “And look at this picture—see how this cake is—I want to do it for Patricia. I don’t know how. I need your help.”
The sweetest words she has ever said. I don’t care what she wants. I’d go to hell for her. And crawl all the way back if she’d just say it again.
“Daniel, I need you.”
He put down his hat and rifle and stood in front of her, lifting her face to his with a gentle hand.
“Anything in the world, aroon.” He caressed her cheek and tweaked a small curl that had escaped its braid to lie against it. Her eyes fell as her hands came up to rest against him. He bent to kiss her.
Annie jumped at the sound of footsteps at the kitchen door, then turned to find her brother Lowell.
“I hope I’m not interrupting,” Lowell said with a wink at Daniel.
“Oh, no,” Annie said swiftly. “Daniel’s helping me with the cake.”
“You might want to get him an apron.”
The white imprint of her hand showed plainly on Daniel’s shirt. She turned back to her brother, saw that he was laughing, and stamped her foot.
“You...” She sputtered and tossed her head so hard her braid flew up and slapped against her cheek. Her hands flew to her face. She turned and fled from the room.
Daniel’s arm shot out as she passed but missed her by inches. “Annie!”
“Let her go,” her brother advised. “She’ll get over it soon enough.” He looked his friend up and down, handed him a towel and gestured at his shirt. As Daniel sheepishly wiped the flour off, Lowell imitated his father’s crisp dialect, “Am I to understand your intentions are honorable, young man?”
“Yes, sir,” Daniel answered, then laughed. “As if you didn’t know.”
“Just checking.” He was, in reality, three years younger than Daniel, but the two men had been friends since childhood. If they’d ever acknowledged a discrepancy in their ages, the time had long since vanished.
“What’s the story with the cake?” Daniel inquired.
Lowell chuckled. His sister’s rare outbursts of temper had always amused him.
“Annie found this picture—I don’t know where.” He pushed it along the table. It was a daguerreotype depicting a couple in formal wedding regalia, and in the background was a triple-tiered cake. “She got Tommy to make the cake pans in three different sizes, but she doesn’t know how to put it together.”
“Looks pretty easy. I’d be willing to bet the columns between the layers are dowels painted white. The layers must have some kind of platforms to support them. Looks like two sheets of wood would do. With holes cut in the cake to put the dowels through. Yeah, it’s pretty simple.”
“Well, don’t tell her that. Let her think you’re some kind of genius.”

Later, Daniel was sitting alone in the kitchen. Lowell had supplied him with a pencil and a large piece of brown paper. On the edges of the paper, he’d marked off the diameters of Tommy’s cake pans, and was trying to estimate the height of the dowels by comparing the dimensions in the picture to the pile he’d made of the cake pans. He was frowning over his drawings, dissatisfied with his work, when Annie came in. She was pale and it was obvious she’d been crying. He went to her and drew her into his arms.
“I’m sorry, aroon. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”
“I know. It’s not your fault. I’ve been so excited, I guess, and nervous… worried about the cake. I haven’t been able to sleep, I just lay awake and worry. I guess I’m too tired to think straight.”
“Come here then. Take a look at this and tell me what you think.”
He’d sketched the framework for the tiered cake on the brown paper. She looked at it, then up at him.“Will it work?” she asked breathlessly.
“No reason why not. I’m just not sure if the columns are the right size.”
“I was going to make one today,” she told him, with renewed excitement in her voice, “to try out the pans and see how long it would take to bake. Maybe we could try putting it together, too. Then, if the columns are too long, you could chop some off. Do you think we could?”
His arm was still around her shoulders, she was leaning against him, half-facing him. He bent over her and finished the kiss he’d started some hours earlier.
“Whatever you want, Annie,” he said.
“Please let’s try it.”
"All right, aroon. I’ll go see if Lowell’s got any boards I can use. Otherwise I’ll have to go into town.”He was back in moments for his hat and rifle. “Your brother’s pretty worthless. Doesn’t save a thing!”
She was deep in thought, studying her recipe, and looked up at him in abstraction. Another streak of flour adorned her forehead.
“Back in a while.”




Amazon UK • Amazon US  




Gifford MacShane is the author of historical fiction that celebrates the resilience of the human spirit.Her novels feature a family of Irish immigrants who settle in the Arizona Territory in the late 1800s. With an accessible literary style, MacShane draws out her characters' hidden flaws and strengths as they grapple with both physical and emotional conflicts.
Singing almost before she could talk, MacShane has always loved folk music, whether it be Irish, Appalachian, spirituals, or the songs of the cowboys. Her love of the Old West goes back to childhood, when her father introduced her to the works of Zane Grey. Later she became interested in the Irish diaspora, having realized her ancestors must have lived through An Gorta Mor, the Great Irish Potato Famine of the mid-1800s. Writing allows her to combine her three great interests into a series of family stories, each including romance, traditional song lyrics, and a dash of Celtic mysticism. Having grown up in a large & often boisterous Irish-American family, she is intimately acquainted with the workings of such a clan and uses those experiences to good purpose (though no names will be named!)
MacShane is a member of the Historical Novel Society, and is an #OwnVoices writer. A self-professed grammar nerd who still loves diagramming sentences, Giff currently lives in Pennsylvania with her husband Richard, the Pied Piper of stray cats.
Connect with Gifford:Website • Twitter • Goodreads • Amazon Author Page

Welcome to Day #5 of the blog tour for The North Finchley Writers’ Group By Richard Tearle, with Helen Hollick #ContemporaryRomance #BlogTour #CoffeePotBookClub @lordf34 @HelenHollick

  

February 15th – February 19th 2021

Publication Date: 2nd February 2021

Publisher: Taw River Press

Page Length: 142 pages

Genre: Contemporary Romance

When a group of north London writers meet each month for a chat, coffee, and cake – what else is on their agenda? Constructive criticism? New Ideas? An exciting project? And maybe, more than one prospective romance...? Eavesdrop on the monthly meetings of the North Finchley Writers' Group, follow some ordinary people with a love of story writing, and an eagerness for success. Discover, along with them, the mysteries of creating characters and plot, of what inspires ideas, and how real life can, occasionally, divert the dream...
We our ending our tour as we began it, with two fabulous blogs. Head over to: Anna Belfrage – Stolen MomentsJudith Arnopp Official Blog for a sneak-peek between the covers!

Welcome to Day #5 of the blog tour for Beware the Lizard Lurking (The House of the Red Duke, Book 2) by Vivienne Brereton @VivienneBreret1 @Beatric09625662

    

February 15th – March 5th 2021
Publication Date: 12th February 2021Publisher: Yuletide PressPage Length: 302 PagesGenre: Historical Fiction
Welcome to the candlelit courts of Europe!
Uninvited guests at a secret wedding.  A frozen River Thames.
 May Day celebrations to remember.
 The young HenryVIII, with the aid of his chief advisor, Thomas Wolsey, and against the counsel of Thomas Howard, the Earl of Surrey, is hellbent on a so-called holy war with France. This puts him at odds with his Scottish brother-in-law, James IV of Scotland, and his older sister, Margaret. 
Both Tristan and Nicolas know that time is running out for them before they have to…enter the Church - and into an arranged marriage, respectively. In the meantime, they remain at loggerheads over pretty Ysabeau de Sapincourt, the spoilt young wife of the hapless Robert.
At La Colombe, near Ardres, in Picardy, spirited little Valentine is still making mischief as she sees fit.
Across the Narrow Sea, Cecily is perfectly content in her beloved Zennor Castle, in Cornwall. 
None of them know what Dame Fortune has in store for them. Will she allow them to follow their own paths…or has she got other ideas?
Head over to Candlelight Reading for a fabulous review!
Click HERE!

Head over to Let Your Words Shine…and discover five fun facts that you never knew about Historical Fiction author, Mal Foster #HistoricalFiction #Victorian @malfosterwriter @BritonandDane

 

February 4th – April 8th 2021

Amazon UK • Amazon US • Book Depository

Publication Date: 12 November 2020
Publisher: Publish Nation
Page Length: 234
Genre: Historical Fiction

In the Victorian era, for many young women, going into domestic service was a significant source of employment where they found suitable work but with extended hours for a reasonable salary, receiving free accommodation as well as enjoying the perks and prestige of working for the aristocracy or other members of the upper or middle-classes.

As a matter of course, employers had a moral obligation, but one without a legal requirement to ensure their servants were kept clean, healthy and well-nourished. However, for one poor girl, that, unfortunately, was not the case.

In 1896, Jude Rogers, a wide-eyed but vulnerable sixteen-year-old from Woking, Surrey, secures a position as a domestic servant at a large terraced house in Half Moon Street, near London's Piccadilly. Following a brief settling-in period, she quickly realises everything is not quite as it seems.

As time moves ruthlessly forward, what happens next is almost beyond comprehension. Jude finds herself in the most impossible of situations and finally succumbs to the pure evil dealt out by her employer.

This story is NOT for the faint-hearted!

Head over to Let Your Words Shine... and discover five things you may not know about Mal Foster!
Click HERE!

Find out about Aspects of History - a new website and magazine and author platform dedicated to #History and #HistoricalFiction @AspectsHistory

 

It is with the greatest of pleasure to welcome the co-founder of Aspects of History, historian and archaeologist, Oliver Webb-Carter back onto The Coffee Pot Book Club.

Mary Anne: It's good to talk to you again, Oliver. Can you update us on what is happening at Aspects of History?
Oliver: Our second issue has just gone live, featuring pieces by Simon Sebag- Montefiore, Ben Kane and Caroline Scott. It would have been nice to toast publication in earnest and have a party with our contributors, but we were understandably unable to do so. The champagne is on ice, however, for when we can arrange a gathering. Response to the first issue has been great. Sales, subscriptions, and the mailing list numbers are above expectations. Writers and readers alike have been in touch to say how much they like the look and content of the magazine. Our second wave of Author Platforms has gone live and it's pleasing that new and independent writers, as well as bestselling authors and publishers, are getting in touch. We are just in the process of putting together our third issue. I am pleased to say that the historical crime novelist Andrew Taylor has just emailed to say he would like to be interviewed.

Mary Anne: It's apparent that Aspects of History is more than just a magazine. Can you tell us a little bit more about what you and your team do?
Oliver: The world of publishing has changed over the past couple of decades, and we wanted Aspects of History to reflect these changes. Mainstream publishing still furnishes us with some great books but the routes to market - and the market itself - have shifted, partly due to Kindle. New voices can and should be heard. As well as being a magazine and website for bestselling authors to raise their sales and profiles, Aspects of History is dedicated to helping independent authors produce and promote their works, from pitch to publication. We offer manuscript/proposal guidance. We also provide publishing services - including cover design, formatting, editing - so that books by independent authors can be professionally published, whilst writers still retain their rights and royalties. We can also help historians and historical novelists launch their books by promoting their titles through our site. We would also encourage any author to use The Coffee Pot Club to gain exposure and readers too, of course. There is more info on our website, but if you are an author looking to secure an agent, publish or promote a novel then do get in touch. 
We need to walk before we can run, but the long-term aims of Aspects of History are to launch a YouTube channel, arrange writing competitions and provide promotional services like Bookbub.We are indeed more than just a magazine. 
Mary Anne: You cover different genres and periods in the magazine and on the website. Are there any gaps you would like to fill, however?
Oliver: That's a good question. We have already put together a great cast list through our Author Platform programme, but we are a broad church. Authors such as Deborah Swift and MJ Porter have recently come on board, but we would love to sign-up more female historical novelists. My background is in archaeology and ancient history, so I am always on the look-out for historians and historical novelists who write about Ancient Greece and Rome. I have also enjoyed reading our second issue, containing plenty of content devoted to Medieval history. Ben Kane has been interviewed by JA Ironside, David Carpenter has written about Henry III, James Burge has written about Heloise and Abelard and the bestselling historical novelist Richard Foreman has furnished us with a great short story, A Knight's Tale, set on the eve of the First Crusade.
We have just started approaching a mixture of historians and historical novelists to write blog pieces on the site, in order to provide extra comment and content. We are happy for authors to get in touch to pitch ideas, although please do check out our website and magazine beforehand to get a sense of what we are looking for.
History needs you, as both readers and writers.

If you would like to find out more about Aspects of History, then head over to their website! 

Welcome to Day #14 of the blog tour for The Search (Across the Great Divide, Book II) by Michael L. Ross #HistoricalFiction #BlogTour #CoffeePotBookClub @MichaelLRoss7

 

 

February 1st – February 19th 2021
Publication Date: December 15, 2020Publisher: HistoricalNovelsRUSPage Length: 217 PagesGenre: Historical Fiction, Christian Historical Fiction, Historical Romance
Where do you go when home is no longer an option?
The guns of the Civil War have ceased firing, and the shots are but an echo... yet the war rages on, deep inside Will Crump's soul. His "soldier's heart" is searching for peace, and in that quest Will joins the westward movement, setting his path on a collision course with adventure, loss, and love.
The Westward Expansion floods the sacred, untouched lands with immigrants, bringing conflict to the Shoshone, Sioux, Cheyenne, and Arapaho. Amidst the chaos Will finds safety in the shadow of the US Army, but the army brings battle-hardened troops into Red Cloud's War, pulling Will into a tornado of conflict. Broken treaties and promises leave both sides searching for answers. Will's search leads him to a battle for survival, and there he finds a love that could change him forever.
Dove, a young Shoshone woman, is a survivor of the Bear Creek Massacre. After being kidnapped and escaping from the Cheyenne, she joins Will's search, seeking where she belongs. Dove longs for more than the restricted role placed on women in her tribe. If she can learn to trust a white man, he just might help her find home... and hope.
Together, Will and Dove must search for understanding, and reach Across the Great Divide.
Head over to the Archaeolibrarian for a spotlight!
Click HERE!

Welcome to Day #4 of the blog tour for The North Finchley Writers’ Group By Richard Tearle, with Helen Hollick #ContemporaryRomance #BlogTour #CoffeePotBookClub @lordf34 @HelenHollick

 

February 15th – February 19th 2021

Publication Date: 2nd February 2021

Publisher: Taw River Press

Page Length: 142 pages

Genre: Contemporary Romance

When a group of north London writers meet each month for a chat, coffee, and cake – what else is on their agenda? Constructive criticism? New Ideas? An exciting project? And maybe, more than one prospective romance...? Eavesdrop on the monthly meetings of the North Finchley Writers' Group, follow some ordinary people with a love of story writing, and an eagerness for success. Discover, along with them, the mysteries of creating characters and plot, of what inspires ideas, and how real life can, occasionally, divert the dream...
Check out the fabulous blogs we are stopping over on today: The Book Bandit’s LibraryZoe’s Art, Craft and LifeThe Books Delightfor a sneak-peek between the covers!

Welcome to Day #4 of the blog tour for Beware the Lizard Lurking (The House of the Red Duke, Book 2) by Vivienne Brereton @VivienneBreret1 @wendyjdunn

   

February 15th – March 5th 2021
Publication Date: 12th February 2021Publisher: Yuletide PressPage Length: 302 PagesGenre: Historical Fiction
Welcome to the candlelit courts of Europe!
Uninvited guests at a secret wedding.  A frozen River Thames.
 May Day celebrations to remember.
 The young HenryVIII, with the aid of his chief advisor, Thomas Wolsey, and against the counsel of Thomas Howard, the Earl of Surrey, is hellbent on a so-called holy war with France. This puts him at odds with his Scottish brother-in-law, James IV of Scotland, and his older sister, Margaret. 
Both Tristan and Nicolas know that time is running out for them before they have to…enter the Church - and into an arranged marriage, respectively. In the meantime, they remain at loggerheads over pretty Ysabeau de Sapincourt, the spoilt young wife of the hapless Robert.
At La Colombe, near Ardres, in Picardy, spirited little Valentine is still making mischief as she sees fit.
Across the Narrow Sea, Cecily is perfectly content in her beloved Zennor Castle, in Cornwall. 
None of them know what Dame Fortune has in store for them. Will she allow them to follow their own paths…or has she got other ideas?
Head over to Wendy Dunn's Official Blog for a sneak-peek between the covers!
Click HERE!

Welcome to Day #10 of the blog tour for Donna Scott's fabulous book - The London Monster #HistoricalFiction @D_ScottWriter @Beatric09625662

 

 

DECEMBER 16TH – FEBRUARY 17TH 2021AMAZON US • AMAZON UK

Publication Date: 21st November 2020

Publisher: Atlantic Publishing

Page Length: 322 pages

Genre: Historical Fiction/Historical Mystery

In 1788, exactly one hundred years before Jack the Ripper terrorizes the people of London, a sexual miscreant known as the London Monster roams the streets in search of his next victim…

Thomas Hayes, having lost his mother in a vicious street assault, becomes an underground pugilist on a mission to rid the streets of violent criminals. But his vigilante actions lead to him being mistaken for the most terrifying criminal of all.

Assistance arrives in the form of Sophie Carlisle, a young journalist with dreams of covering a big story, though she is forced to masquerade as a man to do it. Trapped in an engagement to a man she doesn’t love, Sophie yearns to break free to tell stories that matter about London’s darker side—gaming, prostitution, violence—and realizes Tom could be the one to help. Together, they come up with a plan.

Straddling the line between his need for vengeance and the need to hide his true identity as a politician's son becomes increasingly difficult as Tom is pressured to win more fights. The more he wins, the more notoriety he receives, and the greater the chance his identity may be exposed—a revelation that could jeopardize his father’s political aspirations and destroy his family’s reputation.

Sophie is also in danger as hysteria spreads and the attacks increase in severity and frequency. No one knows who to trust, and no one is safe—Tom included, yet he refuses to end the hunt.

Little does he realize, the monster is also hunting him.

We have had so much fun on tour with The London Monster. Our final stop is over on Candlelight Reading where you can have a sneak-peek between the covers of this fabulous book!
Click HERE!