Mary Anne Yarde's Blog: The Coffee Pot Book Club , page 85

Check out Jana Petken's fabulous book — Oath of Allegiance (Allegiance, Book 2) #HistoricalFiction #WW1

Oath of Allegiance(Allegiance, Book 2)By Jana Petken



As the Great War enters its most deadly phase, Patrick, Jenny, and Danny Carmody must cast aside their personal desires in order to stand with Britain against Germany and her allies.

Danny, who is recovering from serious wounds, is devastated when he learns he must return to the Continent to fight at the front.

Patrick, traumatised by his experience on HMHS Britannic, prays for a shore posting, but the Royal Navy has something much more insidious in store for him.

Jenny and Kevin rekindle their love for one another but their relationship is tested when the Irish people demand their independence from Britain and its king. Jenny must choose between her brothers and her new husband’s Anglo-Irish aristocratic family.

The Coffee Pot Book Club

★★★★★ 

Highly Recommended

Read the full review HERE!

Pick up your copy ofOath of AllegianceAmazon UK • Amazon US

Jana Petken
Jana Petken is a bestselling historical fiction novelist and screenwriter. 
She is critically acclaimed as a bestselling, gritty, author who produces bold, colourful characters and riveting storylines. She is the recipient of numerous major international awards for her works of historical fiction and is presently in talks with film producers regarding one of her titles.Before life as an author, she served in the British Royal Navy. During her service, she studied Naval Law and history. After the Navy, she worked for British Airways and turned to writing after an accident on board an aircraft forced her to retire prematurely.

Connect with Jana: Website • Twitter  • Goodreads

Check out Historical Fiction author, Paula Butterfield's fabulous book — La Luministe #impressionists #art @pbutterwriter

La LuministeBy Paula Butterfield


Above all, Berthe Morisot yearns to be a professional artist. Despite the skepticism of her parents and the male-dominated conservatism of the Parisian art world, Berthe pursues her artistic passion. Chafing under the tutelage of traditional masters, Berthe is mesmerized by Paris’ most revolutionary artist, the debonair Édouard Manet, whose radical paintings reflect a brash modern style. Berthe consents to model for Édouard and in the process falls deeply in love, an affair that both must keep hidden from the world, for Édouard is married to another.As the city of Paris is convulsed by the Franco-Prussian war, and dark family secrets are revealed, the lovers are driven apart. Berthe, after enduring the horrors of a city under siege, and suffering from recurring depression, marries Édouard’s brother, the mercurial Eugène Manet. Quiet married life is not for Berthe, however, and she—along with her infamous contemporaries, who include Edgar Degas, Paul Cézanne, and Claude Monet—develop the radical painting style that challenges the stifling traditionalism of the Salon: Impressionism. Collectively, they deem Berthe’s light-infused paintings the most avant-garde works of them all.La Luministe is the story of a woman driven by determination for professional recognition in a conservative art world equally determined to deny her a place. Despite her thwarted hopes for love and the physical rigors of war, Berthe Morisot emerges as one of art’s most remarkable women.

The Coffee Pot Book Club

★★★★★ 

Highly Recommended

Read the full review HERE! 

Pick up your copy ofLa LuministeAmazon UK • Amazon US


Paula Butterfield
Paula Butterfield was born in New York and raised in Portland, Oregon. A writer since she could write, her first works were plays performed on a window seat with her little sister. As an art history student, Paula was struck by the fact that her textbooks contained few women artists. Was is possible that there were none worthy of mention?

After earning her MFA in Professional Writing from the School of Cinema at the University of Southern California, Paula worked as a story analyst for United Artists. Again, she came across few stories about women. But later, in the process of developing and teaching college courses about women in the arts, she discovered a wealth of stories and felt compelled to write about them. La Luministe, her debut novel, won the Chanticleer Book Reviews first place award for historical fiction.

Paula lives with her husband and daughter is Portland, Oregon and on the Oregon coast. Still committed to sharing women's stories, she is currently working on her next book about two rival American artists.

Connect with Paula: Website • Twitter • Goodreads.  

Check out Clay Cormany's fabulous book — The Bullybuster #sciencefiction #YA #WhatToRead @Speechwriter2

The Bullybuster

By Clay Cormany

Ridgeview High School is abuzz with gossip after notorious bully Trevor Newsome is knocked flat by someone -- or something. After Trevor claims a robot attacked him, Principal Wilma Allan sends her nephew, ace student newspaper reporter Owen Dinsmore, to investigate. The police are stumped, but Owen’s investigation leads to some amazing discoveries as well as a chance to go out with beautiful Erica Litvak, who might know more about Trevor’s attacker than she admits.

 

Excerpt

 

Erica flicked a switch that lit up the back half of the classroom. Then, with arms straining, she lugged her load to the open area between the last row of desks and the first row of work tables. She laid the case on the floor, clicked it open, and came over next to Owen, who started to walk toward it.

Erica put a gentle hand on his shoulder. “Stay here with me.” In her other hand, she held a device like a TV remote, only bigger.

Owen pointed at the thing in her hand. “Where did you get that?”

“From inside the Bullybuster.”

“The briefcase you dragged out is the Bullybuster?” Owen said, his eyes wide.

“Yes, and it’s a carrying case, not a briefcase. Let me show you.” She put the device up to her mouth.

“BB, activate.” 

The case began to shake while emitting a low, pulsating hum.

 

Clay Cormany

 

Clay Cormany is the author of two YA books. The first, Fast-Pitch Love (Astraea Press, 2014), combines the angst and thrill of teenage romance with softball competition. His second book, The Bullybuster (Kindle Direct Publishing, 2019), examines not only the harm of bullying but also the consequences of revenge. Cormany has had shorter works published in the Columbus Dispatch and Spring Street, Columbus State Community College's literary magazine. When not writing at his desk, he enjoys bicycling and reading stories to his grandchildren.

 

Connect with Clay: Website • Facebook • Twitter • Goodreads • Amazon Author Page.

 

 

 

A Conversation with #HistoricalFiction author, Marthese Fenech #interview @Fenka33

A Conversation withHistorical Fiction author, Marthese FenechPlease give a warm Coffee Pot welcome to author, Marthese Fenech.

MA: Hi Marthese, welcome back to the blog. Before we begin, could you please tell my readers a little about yourself.
MF: Hello! My name is Marthese Fenech, but friends call me Mar. I am the
author of historical novels set in sixteenth-century Malta and Istanbul. I’m an adventure-seeker who loves to snowboard, surf, paddleboard, rock-climb, and scuba-dive. In quieter moments, I enjoy practicing yoga and going for runs or long walks with my Siberian husky. Photography is another of my hobbies, especially chasing landscapes, seascapes, and sunsets. My husband and I love the outdoors and tackle challenging hikes all over the world. I’m also learning to skateboard to improve my surfing.

MA: I absolutely adored your debut novel, Eight Pointed Cross. Could you tell us about the inspiration behind you new release?MF: Falcon’s Shadow is the sequel to Eight Pointed Cross and the second book in a trilogy. My parents are Maltese, and frequent visits to the island piqued my interest from a young age in its rich history. Life under the rule of the Knights of St John fascinated me most. But it was while I vacationed there twenty years ago that the idea to write this saga first took root.

A friend suggested we check out the Malta Experience, an audio-visual masterpiece that depicts the island’s incredible seven-thousand-year history. When the Great Siege of 1565 played out on the screen, I knew I simply had to write a novel about this most epic of battles. The valour of the Maltese left an indelible mark on me, and twenty years, many miles, and several thousand cups of tea later, I am completing work on the third book in the trilogy.MA: It is such a fascinating era of history. How did you come up with the setting for your book?MF: For the most part, the setting decided itself. Malta and Istanbul are the primary locations where the events unfolded. But my characters set out on journeys—or are captured and transported elsewhere, which takes them to various sites across Europe and Africa, including Italy, France, Rhodos, Zoara, and Djerba.

In order for me to write authentically, I need to do more than read about a place or look at pictures. I need to immerse in it, its smells, sounds, and tastes, its languages, its people, its paces. This allows me to include actual sensory details in my descriptions. Perhaps the way a slant of light touches something catches my attention, and I can incorporate that image into a scene. When I was travelling through Romania I visited a castle in the Brasov region, and there was something magical about the way the sun and clouds created pools of light on the mountains and cast the tall trees that grew densely on the slopes in deeper shades of grey. While my characters never find themselves in Romania, the image is one that resonated with me and still made its way into my book.

Smells have the same effect. I lived temporarily in Singapore and as I was working on Falcon’s Shadow at a local café—and struggling with a terrible bout of writer’s block. The breeze carried the delicate scent of a frangipani flower to my table and inspired a sweet, tender scene between characters Katrina and Robert. That lovely fragrance helped clear the fog, and the words began to flow.

MA: What about the characters — how did you come up with them?MF: I do my best to observe and notice things—subtle things, easy-to-miss things. A face on a movie screen or a streetcar could give rise to a character as might a person’s walk, tone of voice, or quirk. For me, the most important thing is to always pay attention.Interactions I’ve had with people at home and abroad have served as wonderful sources of inspiration. My husky is incurably hilarious and I managed to work him into Falcon’s Shadow as Louie, a wolf-dog with mismatched eyes.

Amusing stories my mother shared about my grandfather helped me to create one of my favourite characters. My grandfather had a big heart, an appreciation for solitude, and a pack of loyal stray dogs that followed him wherever he went. Coincidentally, so does my fictional Fr Tabone.

Some of my characters are actual historical figures—but even when writing a character based on a real person, I still need to fill in his or her thoughts and body language. And, in many cases, dialogue and actions. I conduct thorough research on every historical individual so that I can develop a clear picture in my mind of his or her physicality, body language, facial expressions, demeanour, and personality. History helps out by supplying some of the person’s actual dialogue. Some I have to make up, but I try to stay true to what he or she would likely have said. For instance, I wouldn’t have Grand Master Valette, a man of iron discipline and unshakeable faith, suggest a night of carousing and gambling at the local tavern. I might find inspiration in great feats, like Chevalier Romegas and his wild, reckless courage against an Ottoman fleet, or Dr Giuseppe Callus, a Maltese patriot who attempted to negotiate more say for the people in their governance, or I might find inspiration in quieter nuances, like Sultan Suleiman and the poems he wrote to his beloved Roxelane.I explore this topic at length in a blog post about how I come up with my characters. You can read more HERE!MA: There are some truly fabulous historical novels out there. Can you name three things that set your books apart?MF: Writing historical fiction presents many challenges, and I have the utmost respect for fellow authors who tackle this wonderful genre.i) I tried very hard to depict heroes and villains on both sides of the battlefield. I hope that readers will root for Maltese and Turkish characters alike, cheer for their successes, lament their losses, and wish for them to prevail—despite that they cannot all prevail.  

ii) Rather than focus on the big players exclusively, I tell the story from the perspective of regular people—ones not bound by oaths or position or politics but average people flung into situations beyond their control, determined by geography and religion, and choices made by the governing powers. Likewise, instead of concentrating on one specific culture or history, I tried to intersperse a variety of histories from several locations to help readers better understand the different, sometimes clashing cultures and perspectives of the day. My books offer glimpses into not only Malta and Turkey’s past but also Italy’s, France’s, Spain’s, and North Africa’s.iii) I strive to give a balanced view of institutions while staying true to the reality of the era. The Church, for example, is often vilified in novels and films, and sometimes rightly so. However, I attempted to juxtapose the evil of the Inquisition with compassionate, progressive-minded Fr Anton Tabone.

MA: One last question before you go. Can you tell us what you are currently working on?MF: At the moment, I am working on the epilogue for the yet-untitled third instalment of the trilogy, which culminates in the Great Siege of 1565. I’m also trying to master those skateboarding skills.MA: I wish you all the best with mastering those skateboarding skills!!If you would like to learn more about Marthese’s and her fabulous books, then you know what to do — SCROLL DOWN!!  Falcon’s ShadowBy Marthese Fenech


The ghosts of war leave no footprints. When legendary Ottoman seaman Dragut Raїs attacks the Maltese islands in 1551, his army renders Gozo a smoking ruin emptied of its entire population. Among the five thousand carried into slavery is Augustine Montesa, father of Domenicus and Katrina.
Wounded and broken, Domenicus vows to find his father, even if it means abandoning Angelica, his true love. Armed with only a topaz to serve as ransom, he sets out on a journey that sees him press-ganged from the streets of mainland Europe and thrown into the frontline of battle. On Malta, Katrina strives to keep her family home from falling apart. After the Grand Master of the knights has her publicly flogged for speaking out against him, she struggles to find work. When at last she stumbles upon a promising position, all is not as it seems. Her new job forces her to confront a terrifying truth—one that could prove disastrous for Robert, the man she loves.
Hundreds of leagues to the east in Istanbul, Demir works hard to become an imperial Ottoman horseman, despite having to endure the cruelty of his half-brother and father. Life takes an unexpected turn the moment Demir encounters a young woman, stolen from Malta, brought into the household as another of his father’s concubines.
Falcon’s Shadow sweeps from quarry pits to sprawling estates, tumultuous seas to drought-ravaged lands, the dungeons beneath the bishop’s palace to the open decks of warships, creaking gallows to sun-drenched courtyards. Two empires collide at the Battle of Djerba, a fateful clash which unites lost kin, only to tear them apart once more.
Pick up your copy of
Falcon’s Shadow
HERE!
Marthese Fenech

Marthese Fenech is the author of historical novels set in sixteenth-century Europe. Research has taken her to the ancient streets her characters roamed, the fortresses they defended, the seas they sailed, and the dungeons they escaped. Obstinate curiosity has led her to sixty-five countries across six continents. She does her best plot-weaving while hiking mountain trails, wandering local markets, paddle boarding cliff-sheltered bays, and sitting at home with her Siberian husky curled at her feet.
The youngest of five, Marthese was born in Toronto to Maltese parents. At twelve, she moved to Malta for six months and was enrolled in an all-girls private school run by nuns; she lasted three days before getting kicked out for talking too much. Back in Toronto, she started her own business recording, editing, and selling bootleg heavy metal concerts. She later worked with special needs children and adults, witnessing small miracles daily.
Marthese has a Master’s degree in Education and teaches high school English and Social Science. She speaks fluent Maltese and French and knows how to ask where the bathroom is in Spanish and Italian. A former kickboxing instructor, she surfs, snowboards, scuba-dives, climbs, skydives, throws axes, and practices yoga—which may sometimes include goats. She lives north of Toronto with her brilliant, mathematically-inclined husband and brilliant, musically-inclined dog, known to lead family howl sessions on occasion.
Connect with Marthese: Website • Facebook • Instagram • Twitter • LinkedIn • Goodreads • Pinterest.

Check out Benjamin J. Gohs' fabulous book — A Thin Porridge #HistoricalFiction #BlogTour #CoffeePotBookClub @BenGohs

A Thin Porridge

By Benjamin J. Gohs

 

When 19-year-old Abeona Browne's renowned abolitionist father Jon Browne dies in summer of 1860, devastating family secrets are revealed, and her life of privilege and naiveté in Southern Michigan becomes a frantic transatlantic search for answers—and someone she didn't even know existed.

 

Still in mourning, Abeona sneaks aboard the ship carrying her father’s attorney Terrence Swifte and his assistant Djimon—a young man with his own secrets—on a quest to Africa to fulfil a dying wish.

 

Along the journey, Abeona learns of her father’s tragic and terrible past through a collection of letters intended for someone he lost long ago.

 

Passage to the Dark Continent is fraught with wild beasts, raging storms, illness, and the bounty hunters who know Jon Browne’s diaries are filled with damning secrets which threaten the very anti-slavery movement he helped to build.

 

Can Abeona overcome antebellum attitudes and triumph over her own fears to right the wrongs in her famous family’s sordid past?

 

So named for an African proverb, A Thin Porridge is a Homeric tale of second chances, forgiveness, and adventure that whisks readers from the filth of tweendecks, to the treachery of Cameroons Town, across the beauty of Table Bay, and deep into the heart of the fynbos—where Boer miners continue the outlawed scourge of slavery.

 

The Coffee Pot Book Club

★★★★★ 

Highly Recommended

Read the full review HERE!

 

Pick up your copy of

A Thin Porridge

Amazon UK • Amazon US • Amazon CA • Amazon AU • Barnes and Noble

 

 

Benjamin J. Gohs

Benjamin J. Gohs is a longtime award-winning news editor whose investigative journalism has included stories of murder, sex-crime, historical discovery, corruption, and clerical misconduct.

 

Benjamin now divides his time between writing literary thrillers and managing the community newspaper he co-founded in 2009.

 

Connect with Benjamin: Website • Twitter • Goodreads.

 

 

 

 

#BookReview — Falcon’s Shadow by Marthese Fenech #HistoricalFiction #Malta @Fenka33

Falcon’s ShadowBy Marthese Fenech


The ghosts of war leave no footprints. When legendary Ottoman seaman Dragut Raїs attacks the Maltese islands in 1551, his army renders Gozo a smoking ruin emptied of its entire population. Among the five thousand carried into slavery is Augustine Montesa, father of Domenicus and Katrina.
Wounded and broken, Domenicus vows to find his father, even if it means abandoning Angelica, his true love. Armed with only a topaz to serve as ransom, he sets out on a journey that sees him press-ganged from the streets of mainland Europe and thrown into the frontline of battle. On Malta, Katrina strives to keep her family home from falling apart. After the Grand Master of the knights has her publicly flogged for speaking out against him, she struggles to find work. When at last she stumbles upon a promising position, all is not as it seems. Her new job forces her to confront a terrifying truth—one that could prove disastrous for Robert, the man she loves.
Hundreds of leagues to the east in Istanbul, Demir works hard to become an imperial Ottoman horseman, despite having to endure the cruelty of his half-brother and father. Life takes an unexpected turn the moment Demir encounters a young woman, stolen from Malta, brought into the household as another of his father’s concubines.
Falcon’s Shadow sweeps from quarry pits to sprawling estates, tumultuous seas to drought-ravaged lands, the dungeons beneath the bishop’s palace to the open decks of warships, creaking gallows to sun-drenched courtyards. Two empires collide at the Battle of Djerba, a fateful clash which unites lost kin, only to tear them apart once more.





"The day a man becomes a slave, he loses half his soul…"Homer
While the smoke settles over Gozo, the Maltese islanders take stock of all that they have lost. And as Augustine Montesa takes his first shaky steps in the capital of his enemy, life as he knew it was going to come abruptly to an end. Sold to the cruel and vicious Al Hajji Hamid al Azm, Augustine is determined to escape at the earliest opportunity. But no man escapes the clutches of Al Hajji Hamid al Azm, or no woman, for that matter.
Malta may be a lifetime away from Istanbul, but Augustine's family have not forgotten him. Domenicus Montesa is willing to travel to the very ends of the earth to find his father. But the journey he embarks on is fraught with danger and difficulties. 
As Augustine tries to come to terms with his reality, he makes an unlikely friend in Al Hajji Hamid al Azm's son. Demir dreams of becoming an Imperial Ottoman horseman when he grows up, but events in his mothers past may mean such dreams will never come to fruition. Forced to live in an abusive household, Augustine takes the child under his wing, but doing so comes at a tremendous personal cost...
From the desperation of the slave market to the horrors of the battlefield, Falcon's Shadow by Marthese Fenech is the evocative story of one family who is torn apart by war, ambition and an appalling act of revenge.
What a story! Falcon's Shadow is an emotional, tear-jerkingly brilliant novel that left me gasping for breath and begging for more. This is the kind of book that demands your attention from the opening sentence until the last full stop. It is a story of terrible suffering, but it is also one of desperate hope. 
Falcon's Shadow is set during the latter half of the 16th Century. It is a time of war, fear, injustice, and it is also the eve of the Roman Inquisition. The banning of books would only be the beginning. In a time of political unrest, the characters in this book have to decide who is the biggest threat, and although they fear the foreign invaders, it is those closest to home who are potentially the most dangerous. In the first novel in this fabulous series, it is The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem who are the most repressive, but now it is the Church that poses the biggest threat to the people. Through the introduction of a secret opposition society, Fenech asks her readers to reflect on the frustration and anger that the people of Malta must have felt towards those in charge. 
Fenech also explores the corrupting power of unchecked ambition and moral constraints during this era in history. The power of the Church, which took it upon itself to be judge, jury and executioner, is played out with all of its devastating consequences. Likewise, the evilness of the characters in this novel cannot be found in those accused of wrongdoing, but in those who are accusing, and those who are willing to listen to such baseless allegations. At times, this book makes for some challenging reading, for the terrible atrocities that occur to one particular character is genuinely shocking and absolutely heart-rendering. The sanctuary of life is corrupted by those who are apparently in God's favour with devastating consequences for the victim and her family. This is the kind of book where a box of tissues close at hand is not a suggestion, but a must.
The power of wealth and the deceitfulness of the gentler sex is also explored and highlights the fact that it is not just men who are capable of violence and evil. The fact that it is a woman who causes such unimaginable grief is repulsive, and yet at the same time it should come as no surprise, for Fenech likes to shock her readers with the lengths the antagonists will go to achieve their aims.
There are so many wonderful characters in this novel, and each has a story to tell. The numerous voices employed in telling this tale gave the narrative a richness that would have been impossible to obtain through a single perspective. And because the protagonists are so likeable and their stories are so realistically narrated, I enjoyed reading about them all. 
The two characters that really stood out for me were Angelica and Demir. Angelica's story is desperately tragic and how I grieved for her when she found herself in the most intolerable of situations. Angelica's portrayal was sublime, and I cannot wait to get my hands on Book 3 of this series because I am desperate to find out what happens to her.
Demir was a character that captured my heart in Book 1 of this series, and he once again stole my heart in this book. The more I read about this character, the more I adore him. He is such a contrast to his vile father and half-brother. His gentle and compassionate heart does him no favours as he grows up, and yet he does not let the evil that surrounds him, corrupt him in any way. I am really looking forward to reading more about this fascinating character.
Fenech has captured the very essences of this era. The hours of research that has so painstakingly gone into this book has to be commended. This novel is what Historical Fiction is all about. It is, in all ways, an absolute success. 
Falcon's Shadow by Marthese Fenech is a beautifully compelling, and emotional read. Book 3 can not come soon enough.
I Highly Recommend.
Review by Mary Anne Yarde.The Coffee Pot Book Club.


Pick up your copy of
Falcon’s Shadow
HERE!


Marthese Fenech

Marthese Fenech is the author of historical novels set in sixteenth-century Europe. Research has taken her to the ancient streets her characters roamed, the fortresses they defended, the seas they sailed, and the dungeons they escaped. Obstinate curiosity has led her to sixty-five countries across six continents. She does her best plot-weaving while hiking mountain trails, wandering local markets, paddle boarding cliff-sheltered bays, and sitting at home with her Siberian husky curled at her feet.
The youngest of five, Marthese was born in Toronto to Maltese parents. At twelve, she moved to Malta for six months and was enrolled in an all-girls private school run by nuns; she lasted three days before getting kicked out for talking too much. Back in Toronto, she started her own business recording, editing, and selling bootleg heavy metal concerts. She later worked with special needs children and adults, witnessing small miracles daily.
Marthese has a Master’s degree in Education and teaches high school English and Social Science. She speaks fluent Maltese and French and knows how to ask where the bathroom is in Spanish and Italian. A former kickboxing instructor, she surfs, snowboards, scuba-dives, climbs, skydives, throws axes, and practices yoga—which may sometimes include goats. She lives north of Toronto with her brilliant, mathematically-inclined husband and brilliant, musically-inclined dog, known to lead family howl sessions on occasion.
Connect with Marthese: Website • Facebook • Instagram • Twitter • LinkedIn • Goodreads • Pinterest.

The Du Lac Chronicles series is only 0.99 each on #Kindle for a Limited Time #Arthurian #HistFic

The Du Lac Chronicles

By Mary Anne Yarde

A generation after Arthur Pendragon ruled, Briton lies fragmented into warring kingdoms and principalities.

Eighteen-year-old Alden du Lac ruled the tiny kingdom of Cerniw. Now he half-hangs from a wooden pole, his back lashed into a mass of bloody welts exposed to the cold of a cruel winter night. He’s to be executed come daybreak—should he survive that long.

When Alden notices the shadowy figure approaching, he assumes death has come to end his pain. Instead, the daughter of his enemy, Cerdic of Wessex, frees and hides him, her motives unclear.

Annis has loved Alden since his ill-fated marriage to her Saxon cousin—a marriage that ended in blood and guilt—and she would give anything to protect him. Annis’s rescue of Alden traps them between a brutal Saxon king and Alden’s remaining allies. Meanwhile, unknown forces are carefully manipulating the ruins of Arthur’s legacy.

Praise for The Du Lac Chronicles.

“An emotional and powerful read…” 

Ellie Midwood, USA Today bestselling author.

“It has rivalry and treachery enough for any Game of Thrones aficionado…”

Tony Riches, bestselling author of The Tudor Trilogy.

 "If you love Vikings, Game of Thrones and The Last Kingdom, you’ll want to travel with the Du Lac family to their turbulent and emotional world..."

Elizabeth St.John, bestselling author of The Lydiard Chronicles Series. 

 

Only 0.99 on Kindle for a Limited 

Time

Amazon

Or catch up with the series with Kindle Unlimited

 

Mary Anne Yarde

Mary Anne Yarde is the multi award-winning author of the International Bestselling Series — The Du Lac Chronicles. Set a generation after the fall of King Arthur, The Du Lac Chronicles takes you on a journey through Dark Age Britain and Brittany, where you will meet new friends and terrifying foes. Based on legends and historical fact, The Du Lac Chronicles is a series not to be missed.

 

Mary Anne is the founder of The Coffee Pot Book Club. She has been a professional reader since 2016 and in this time Mary Anne has reviewed many books for the big and small publishing houses, as well as books penned by her fellow indie authors. Mary Anne is also an editorial reviewer for The Coffee Pot Book Club. Mary Anne has been a judge for a prestigious Historical Fiction Book Award for the last three years, as well as being a Top Reviewer on Netgalley.

  

Born in Bath, England, Mary Anne Yarde grew up in the southwest of England, surrounded and influenced by centuries of history and mythology. Glastonbury — the fabled Isle of Avalon — was a mere fifteen-minute drive from her home, and tales of King Arthur and his knights were part of her childhood.

 

Connect with Mary Ann: The Coffee Pot Book Club website • The Coffee Pot Book Club blog •  Twitter •  Facebook • Instagram •  Goodreads.

 

 

Have a sneak-peek between the covers of Elizabeth St.John's fabulous #NewRelease COUNTERPOINT: Henry, the King's Cavalier #HistFic @ElizStJohn

COUNTERPOINT:

Henry, the King's Cavalier

(The Lydiard Chronicles: 1603-1664)

By Elizabeth St.John

A man may think his life is only measured by battles fought for the king. Until he meets a woman worth fighting for.

 

Henry Wilmot. Cavalier. Seasoned soldier. Grieving widower. On the eve of battle he is sent by the king to requisition arms. What he did not expect was that the supplies were a gift from a feisty and attractive widow who was hiding her own Royalist beliefs in plain sight. Even more alarming was that his quest took him into the heart of an enemy Parliamentarian household. Will Henry survive the fight of his life? And will Nan remember him if he does?

A counterpoint is a melody played in conjunction with another, or an opposing viewpoint in an argument. Our lives are complex, and each one of us carries within us a counterpoint to another’s story.

 

Here is a counterpoint to Nan Wilmot, from Written in Their Stars.

 

Excerpt

On the eve of the battle of Edge Hill, Henry Wilmot is in a desperate race to acquire arms on behalf of the king. He enlists the help of Allen Apsley, who leads him to his cousin.

 

The foolish groom just ignored me before bending and feebly pushing the guns back into a pile. He was a weed of a man, the guns near as long as him. At that rate, we would be there all night.

 

I nudged him with my boot. “Don’t be so bloody stupid, you whoreson. Get out of the damned way. Now.”

 

The fellow snatched up a gun and pointed it at me. “And you don’t be so bloody rude.” In a swift motion, Allen seized the weapon and flung it to the ground—and then burst out laughing. I was still struggling to understand why a stripling whose voice had not even broken was on a mission like this.

 

Allen hugged the lad, knocking off his hat. The recruit laughed with a laugh that sent heat to my gut. And shook loose a wash of auburn curls.

 

“Allen!”

 

“Nan!”

 

“Dear God!” I exclaimed.

 

She swept me a look that would have stopped the Earl of Essex dead and saved us the trouble of fighting again that month.

 

“Where’s my brother?” she demanded of Apsley.

 

“With the advance cavalry, on his way to London.” He paused. “Ned’s perfectly safe, Nan. We meet up from here and ride together.”

 

She nodded in my direction. “Who’s this?” 

 

“Henry Wilmot, at your service.” I swept my best bow. Somehow her attitude and the occasion demanded it.

 

“Should I know you, Mr. Wilmot?”

 

Again that arrogance. I just stared at her.

 

Apsley rushed to my rescue. “Colonel Wilmot is the king’s Commissioner General of the Horse. He leads the cavalry in his army, Nan. He is the most experienced military commander, second only to Prince Rupert.” He paused. “And more popular.”

 

She sniffed. “Let’s see if you can ride as well as you curse.” She turned to Apsley. “Give me a leg up, Allen. I’ll show you the shortcut across Ditchley Park. It’ll save you two hours on the track.”

 

This was too much. We did not need a woman slowing us down at this vital moment. “Can’t your men lead us? This is really no place for a lady.”

 

As Apsley cupped his hands and Lady Lee stepped up on her high horse—if it was even possible for her to climb any higher—her cloak swung open, revealing a pair of breeches and a man’s jacket, some kind of linen shirt and velvet waistcoat. None of which did anything to hide her figure nor her agility.

 

“Not what I had expected, Apsley,” I muttered under my breath. “Yet certainly more than I wished for.”

 

He grinned and quickly mounted, as did I. “Ride forward with Nan, Colonel, and I’ll bring up the rear to ensure the pack ponies don’t lag.” Cantering down the track, he left me at his cousin’s mercy.

 

“Shall we go?” She shot me another glance. “Or are you concerned about keeping up with a woman in unknown territory?”

 

She urged her horse forward, her hair streaming behind like the mane of a wild filly.

 

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Elizabeth St.John

Elizabeth St.John was brought up in England, lives in California, and spends most of her time in the 17th Century. To inspire her writing, she has tracked down family papers and residences from Nottingham Castle, Lydiard Park, and Castle Fonmon to the Tower of London. Although the family sold a few castles and country homes along the way (it's hard to keep a good castle going these days), Elizabeth's family still occupy them - in the form of portraits, memoirs, and gardens that carry their imprint. And the occasional ghost. But that's a different story...

 

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Check out #HistoricalFiction author, Marthese Fenech's, fabulous new book — Falcon’s Shadow #NewRelease @Fenka33

Join #HistoricalFiction author, Tony Riches, as he explores the life of Mary Tudor, Queen of France #history #Tudors @tonyriches

Stories of the Tudors 

By Tony Riches

Mary Tudor, Queen of France

Mary Tudor and Charles Brandon.

Join Tony Riches as he explores the life of Mary Tudor in this fabulous Podcast

Mary - Tudor Princess(The Brandon Trilogy Book 1)

By Tony Riches

Would you dare to defy King Henry VIII?

Mary Tudor watches her elder brother become King of England and wonders what the future holds for her.

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Mary - Tudor PrincessAmazon UK • Amazon US

Tony Riches

Tony Riches is a full-time UK author of best-selling historical fiction. He lives in Pembrokeshire, West Wales and is a specialist in the history of the Wars of the Roses and the lives of the early Tudors. Tony’s other published historical fiction novels include: Owen – Book One Of The Tudor Trilogy, Jasper – Book Two Of The Tudor Trilogy, Henry – Book Three Of The Tudor Trilogy, Mary – Tudor Princess, Brandon – Tudor Knight and The Secret Diary Of Eleanor Cobham. For more information about Tony’s books please visit his website tonyriches.com and his blog, The Writing Desk and find him on Facebook and Twitter.