Mary Anne Yarde's Blog: The Coffee Pot Book Club , page 88

Check out Laura Maybrooke’s fabulous book — Immortal Defiance (Dulcea’s Rebellion #1) #HistoricalFantasy #MustRead @LMaybrooke

Immortal Defiance(Dulcea’s Rebellion #1)By Laura Maybrooke

Some things never die. Hope. Heroes. Defiance.

Things take a strange turn for Dulcea, the elven enchantress turned war heroine and Dragonmistress, when a countryman's betrayal lands her in enemy hands.

As she awaits her execution, a stranger with mysterious powers offers her another chance at life. Will she die here or risk what sinister fate he has in store for her?

Can Dulcea reclaim her rightful place and lead her army once more? Or does Krath, the man who travels the Realm of the Dead as one of its own, prove to be the obstacle that fells her rebellion?

… Or will this immortal vampire warrior turn out to be the best chance she has of defying the ancient evil arising in the west?

 

The Coffee Pot Book Club

★★★★★ 

Highly Recommended

Read the full review HERE!

Pick up your copy ofImmortal DefianceAmazon UK • Amazon US



Laura Maybrooke
"I live in my own little world. But it's ok, they know me here." (Who besides me has this fridge magnet; raise your hand!)
That's sometimes what it feels like. Who says stories aren't real? I live in the land of the Midnight Sun and Polar Nights, together with my husband and daughter, and a cast of fantasy characters running around in my head. It's busy here. Care to stay and chat a while?

Laura Maybrooke is an 80s' child, who works too much and writes too little, but who'll never say no to a thrilling romance, a high fantasy adventure, or a cookbook full of delicious treats she'd like to bake one day.
Connect with Laura: Website • Facebook • Twitter • Pinterest.

Check out Linnea Tanner’s fabulous book — Amulet’s Rapture (Curse of Clansmen and Kings #3) #HistoricalFantasy #AncientRome @linneatanner

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Amulet’s Rapture(Curse of Clansmen and Kings #3)By Linnea Tanner

Blood stains her Celtic home and kingdom. The warrior Druid princess will do anything to retake her throne.

Although Catrin is the rightful heir to the Celtic throne in Britannia, she is lucky to be alive. After witnessing the slaughter of her family at the hands of her half-brother, who was aided by the Romans, she is enslaved by a Roman commander. He disguises her as a boy in the Roman Legion with the belief that she is an oracle of Apollo and can foretell his future. The sole bright spot in her miserable new life is her forbidden lover Marcellus, the great-grandson of the famed Roman general Mark Antony.

But Marcellus has been wounded and his memories of Catrin and their secret marriage were erased by a dark Druidess. Though Marcellus reunites with Catrin in Gaul and becomes her ally as she struggles to survive the brutality of her Roman master, he questions the legitimacy of their marriage and hesitates to help her escape and retake her kingdom. If their forbidden love and alliance are discovered, her dreams of returning to her Celtic home with Marcellus will be shattered.

The Coffee Pot Book Club

★★★★★ 

Highly Recommended

Read the full review HERE!

Pick up your copy ofAmulet’s RaptureAmazon UK • Amazon US





Linnea Tanner

Linnea Tanner weaves Celtic tales of love, magic, adventure, betrayal and intrigue into historical fiction set in Ancient Rome and Britannia. Since childhood, she has passionately read about ancient civilizations and mythology which held women in higher esteem. Of particular interest are the enigmatic Celts who were reputed as fierce warriors and mystical Druids.
Depending on the time of day and season of the year, you will find her exploring and researching ancient and medieval history, mythology and archaeology to support her writing. As the author of the Apollo’s Raven series, she has extensively researched and traveled to sites described within each book.
A native of Colorado, Linnea attended the University of Colorado and earned both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in chemistry. She lives in Windsor with her husband and has two children and six grandchildren.
Connect with Linnea: Website  Blog  Twitter  Amazon Author Page  Facebook  Linked-in   Pinterest   Google  Goodreads 

Check out Mary Ann Bernal’s Fabulous book — Crusader's Path #HistoricalFiction #Crusades #BlogTour @BritonandDane

Crusader's Path

By Mary Ann Bernal

From the sweeping hills of Argences to the port city of Cologne overlooking the River Rhine, Etienne and Avielle find themselves drawn by the need for redemption against the backdrop of the First Crusade.

Heeding the call of His Holiness, Urban II, to free the Holy Land from the infidel, Etienne follows Duke Robert of Normandy across the treacherous miles, braving sweltering heat and snow-covered mountain passes while en route to the Byzantine Empire.

Moved by Peter of Amiens’ charismatic rhetoric in the streets of the Holy Roman Empire, Avielle joins the humble army of pilgrims. Upon arrival in Mentz, the peasant Crusaders do the unthinkable, destroying the Jewish Community. Consumed with guilt, Avielle is determined to die fighting for Christ, assuring her place in Heaven.

Etienne and Avielle cross paths in Constantinople, where they commiserate over past misdeeds. A spark becomes a flame, but when Avielle contracts leprosy, Etienne makes a promise to God, offering to take the priest cowl in exchange for ridding Avielle of her affliction.

Will Etienne be true to his word if Avielle is cleansed of the contagion, or will he risk eternal damnation to be with the woman he loves?

 

The Coffee Pot Book Club

★★★★★ 

Highly Recommended

Read the full review HERE!

 

Pick up your copy of

Crusader's Path

Amazon UK • Amazon US

 

 

 

Mary Ann Bernal

 

Mary Ann Bernal attended Mercy College, Dobbs Ferry, NY, where she received a degree in Business Administration. Her literary aspirations were ultimately realized when the first book of The Briton and the Dane novels was published in 2009. In addition to writing historical fiction, Mary Ann has also authored a collection of contemporary short stories in the Scribbler Tales series and a science fiction/fantasy novel entitled Planetary Wars Rise of an Empire. Her latest endeavor is Crusader’s Path, a story of redemption set against the backdrop of the First Crusade.

 

 

Connect with Mary Ann: Website • Blog • Whispering Legends Press •  Twitter • Facebook.

 

Publication date: 12/04/2020

Publisher: Whispering Legends Press

 

Historical Fiction Blog Tours with The Coffee Pot Book Club #HistoricalFiction #BlogTours

Historical Fiction

Blog Tours with

The Coffee Pot Book Club

 

What is a blog tour?

​

With the age of the internet and modern technology, the way books are marketed is changing. Unlike conventional book tours, a blog tour is a virtual tour on a number of relevant blogs. Virtual tours are a fabulous way to get your book in front of the audience you want to target.

 

Why Choose The Coffee Pot Book Club?

​

The Coffee Pot Book Club prides itself on professional and affordable book promotion. The founder, Mary Anne Yarde, has been promoting authors, both traditional and independent, since 2015. The Coffee Pot Book Club Blog Tours Package offers the opportunity for authors to promote their books to a worldwide audience, in the comfort of their own home.

 

How much does it cost?

​

Blog Tour Packages

 

Package 1

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Would you like to take your book on a virtual tour but don't have the time to write Guest Post and answer interview questions? Then, the EXCERPT ONLY tour is the blog tour for you!

• 5 blog stops over 5 days

• Social Media Exposure: Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest & Instagram

• Personalised Tour Banner

Total Cost £55.00

​

Package 2

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Would you like to keep the momentum of your book's new release going for as long as possible, then this tour might be the one for you! 

One blog stop a week for ten weeks.

• Social Media Exposure: Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest & Instagram

• This tour includes a combination of author interviews, guest posts, book spotlight, book spotlight and excerpt

• Personalised Tour Banner

Total Cost £62.00

​

Package 3

​

• 10 blog stops over 10 days

• This tour includes a combination of *reviews, author interviews, guest posts, book spotlight and excerpt

• Social Media Exposure: Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest & Instagram

• Personalised Tour Banner

Total Cost £95.00

​

Package 4​

​

• 10 blog stops over 10 days

• This tour includes a combination of *reviews, author interviews, guest posts, book spotlight and excerpt

• Social Media Exposure: Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest & Instagram

• Personalised Tour Banner

• 10 Days sidebar advertisement of your book on The Coffee Pot Book Club Blog

Total Cost £125.00

​

Package 5​

​

• 10 blog stops over 10 days

• This tour includes a combination of *reviews, author interviews, guest posts, book spotlight and excerpt

• Social Media Exposure: Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest & Instagram

• A personalised Facebook Event for your book, organised and run by The Coffee Pot Book Club

• 10 Days sidebar advertisement of your book on The Coffee Pot Book Club Blog

• Personalised Tour Banner and personalised artwork for all social media platforms.

Total cost £250.00

​

Must be booked 6 weeks in advance

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*The number of reviews are not guaranteed.

If you would like to find out more, visit the contact page.

 

 

Check out Christine Hancock's fabulous book — Bright Blade (The Byrhtnoth Chronicles, Book #3). #HistoricalFiction #mustread

Bright Blade:

(The Byrhtnoth Chronicles, Book #3)

By Christine Hancock

Byrhtnoth thinks only of killing the man who stole his sword and wounded his wife. But the blade of revenge can strike both ways.
Erik Bloodaxe has broken his oath and claimed the throne of York. In his anger, King Eadred sends his army to ravage Northumbria.

Sent north with the ships, Byrhtnoth suffers storms at sea and fire on land.After an encounter with an old enemy he is left broken, in mind and body.

Can Byrhtnoth survive until help arrives?

Will he ever fight again?

 

The Coffee Pot Book Club

★★★★★ 

Highly Recommended

Read the full review HERE!

 

 

Pick up your copy of

Bright Blade

Amazon UK • Amazon US

 

 

Christine Hancock

I was born in Essex and moved to Rugby, Warwickshire when I married. I have a husband, two sons and two lovely grandchildren.

 

I am a long-term family historian, leader of the local history group and town guide.

 

I had never thought of becoming an author – I just wanted to write about some of my ancestors. In 2013 I joined a writing class. The class turned out to be about writing fiction. Before I knew it, I was writing a novel.

 

Byrhtnoth was a real warrior who died in the 991 Battle of Maldon, made famous by the Anglo-Saxon poem of that name. Growing up in Essex, I visited Maldon often, and attended the 1000 year anniversary of the battle in 1991.

I wanted to find out what made Byrhtnoth such a famous warrior.

 

I finished the book but found it had become a series – how long, I have yet to find out.

 

Connect with Christine: Blog • Facebook • Twitter

 

 

Check out Natalia Richards' fabulous #NewRelease — The Falcon’s Flight: A novel of Anne Boleyn, Book #2 #HistoricalFiction #Tudors @nat_wieczorek

The Falcon’s Flight

By Natalia Richards

Anne Boleyn's life is threatened, intrigue, gossip and treachery abound, and her destiny is finally revealed.

A young Anne Boleyn and her sister are sent to Paris to attend Mary Tudor, the new Queen of France. Unclear where her loyalties should lie, Anne soon makes an enemy of the queen. When the widowed Mary returns to England, Anne stays on in France to serve the new queen, Claude, but Anne's sister's actions put the girls' new court career at risk.

A dangerous love affair follows and Anne finds an unlikely ally in the French king's mistress.

But nothing ever goes to plan...

The Falcon’s Flight is the second part of Natalia Richard’s vivid retelling of Anne Boleyn’s early life. Book one, The Falcon’s Rise, vividly portrayed Anne’s early life in England, and at Mechelen with Margaret of Austria. The Falcon’s Flight takes us on to Anne’s ever eventful life on the continent.

 

Pick up your copy of

The Falcon’s Flight

Amazon UK • Amazon US

 

 

Natalia Richards

As a curator and historian for over 30 years, Natalia have worked in many museums in Derbyshire and later in London. She also worked free-lance for the History Channel USA as a researcher, co-ordinator, and interviewer on the award-winning production 'Secrets of War.' However, her passion since a very early age has been the study of the Tudors, particularly Anne Boleyn and the court of King Henry VIII. 

She did not begin writing seriously until around 2008 and originally planned to write about Anne Boleyn at the English court. However, a great deal had already been written about this period, and she began to look at Anne’s earlier life from the period 1500 to 1514. Since research as a curator has always been Natalia’s passion, she wanted to write as factual a novel as possible and spent years visiting sites such as Blickling in Norfolk, Hever Castle, Rochford Manor, and the palace of Margaret of Austria, in Mechelen, just outside Brussels. It was here that Anne was sent as a young maid-of-honour, and Natalia was honoured to gain access to rooms not normally open to the public. The result of her research was The Falcon's Rise, her first book. She has followed it up with part two The Falcon's Flight, covering the period 1514-1521, which will be published on 19 May 2020. She had a wonderful time in France researching this book and visiting the château Anne herself knew. She hopes you enjoy reading about these places as much as she enjoyed writing about them.

In her spare time, Natalia loves travelling, rambling, and visiting historic houses, as well as constantly reading and researching the Tudor period.

 

Connect with Natalia: Website • Twitter • Facebook • Instagram.

 

 

Check out Historical Fiction author, Dominic Fielder's, fabulous award-winning book — The Black Lions of Flanders (The King's Germans Book #1) #mustread @Kings_Germans

The Black Lions of Flanders (The King's Germans Book #1)By Dominic Fielder

In the war of the First Coalition, friend and foe know one simple truth: trust your ally at your own peril.
February 1793.
Private Sebastian Krombach has joined the army to escape the boredom of life in his father’s fishing fleet. Captain Werner Brandt yearns to leave his post and retire into civilised society and Lieutenant Erich von Bomm wants nothing more than to survive his latest escapade that has provoked yet another duel. Each man is a King’s German; when they are called to war, their lives will become inextricably linked.

The redcoats of the 2nd Battalion, 10th Regiment, must survive the divisions that sweep through their ranks before they are tested in combat. On the border of France, the King’s Germans will face an enemy desperate to keep the Revolution alive: the Black Lions of Flanders.
Pick up your copy ofThe Black Lions of Flanders.Amazon US • Amazon UK

Dominic Fielder
Dominic Fielder (1968-present) was born in Plymouth to parents of families from Roman Catholic and Protestant backgrounds. Then such things mattered to others but not to a first-born son who knew only love and a stable happy family. Two brothers made for a warm and somewhat idyllic childhood. He was bright but a disengaged student preferring instead to spend time with his dad at the family book business (the Bookstall) where a love of literacy flourished. Having finished sixth-form at Devonport High School for Boys, he passed opportunities to join first, the Tank Regiment, then the Royal Air Force, settling instead on a career in banking. Three years later, fed up with counting other people’s money, he travelled to Australia for a year, working for a time in the Outback and thoroughly enjoying life!
On returning to the UK, he drifted into work at his family’s Comic Shop (Kathies Comics). Despite fifteen years of hard work, the business failed and so did his marriage. Working a series of odd jobs, with odd hours, he finished a degree course in History, gaining a First and drifted into the world of education. Now he divides his time unequally between private tuition, running the family book business which has survived for sixty years and writing. More important than all of these, is spending time with his son. With what free time he has, he enjoys cycling, walking and horse-riding on the moors that surround his home in Mary Tavy, Devon.
His passion and interest for as many years as he can care to remember has been ‘little model soldiers’, painting them, researching facts about the regiments and playing wargames with them. For a dozen years or more, Dominic ran a series of ‘Megagames’ where people would arrive from all corners of the globe to game out World War Two scenarios for a week. Such events needed a strong narrative and his first attempts at writing were contained within the pre-game intelligence and the post-action reports. His writing project, ‘The King’s Germans’ is a few steps further down that road. For the person who drifted from one task to another, it’s a commitment to write twenty-two years of the history of Hanoverian soldiers in the service of King George III.    
Connect with Dominic on:  Facebook • Twitter.

#HistoricalFiction author, Irene Wittig, is sharing the inspiration behind her fabulous book — All That Lingers @irene_wittig

All that LingersBy Irene Wittig
I was born in Rome in June of 1944, ten days after the city’s liberation by Allied troops. My Viennese mother had found safety in Italy, her mother in New York. Her Jewish father had reached France only to be arrested and then rescued and hidden. Her brother had obtained a visa to study music in New York, but when faced with deportation, joined the U.S. Army and became a Ritchie Boy (a native German speaker trained to translate and interrogate prisoners of war) only to die a week before returning home at the end of the war. His death remains unexplained. These were the stories that haunted us, but we were to hear many more—many far worse than ours—when we emigrated first to Argentina and then New York.
Crossing the equator by ship enroute from Argentina to New York 1951.
I listened and absorbed the stories of fellow refugees and people displaced by war. I wept for their losses and admired their resilience and came to understand that the past lingers for everyone. For some the cloud of memories is merely a light mist that glistens in the light of day. But for others, it is a heavy fog through which they struggle to find their way. Even refugees and immigrants who triumph over their experiences, will find that their success is often tinged by a longing for home and the lives they’d been forced to give up. To understand this is to have empathy for the scars that people carry whether from war, injustice, persecution or exploitation. These scars linger and pass down to the next generations until they become a cultural memory. But in my novel, as in the lives of so many people, hope and courage make resilience possible.
As I researched the Vienna my family left behind, I came to realize how little most of us know about the time before the war, and how a short civil war few remember set the stage for Hitler’s annexation of Austria.
My grandparents’ apartment building on Ungargasse was inspiration for Emma's (second) apartment in the novel.
In imagining what decisions ordinary people must have had to make, I began to write ALL THAT LINGERS. The novel is a tale told through the eyes of its three main characters, whose lives intertwine. Emma, as the main character, loses those most important to her. To find the strength to come to terms with her grief and her country’s betrayal, she realizes that she must answer needs greater than her own. Sophie, the orphaned daughter of Emma’s friend, returns to Vienna seeking answers about her lost history. Sophie’s uncle Friedrich, wryly aware of his moral failings, struggles with secrets he knows will throw all their lives into turmoil again.
This 1920 poster done as advertisement for the shop owned by my Viennese grandfather. It served as inspiration for the Grünbaum store in the novel where Emma works..
The Vienna street scene depicted on the cover of my novel is by the Austrian artist, Béla Husserl, who died in 1940 at the age of 42 in Austria’s Hartheim Concentration Camp, a victim of Nazi euthanization. He was the uncle of my childhood friend.



I’ve created my website  so that readers can explore the Vienna of my novel through links to a variety of videos, articles, and information on the city’s history, culture, and gastronomy.
All That LingersBy Irene Wittig

In this novel of loss, courage, and resilience, we experience Vienna’s tumultuous years from Austria’s 1934 civil war, through World War II and postwar occupation, to independence. Three lives intertwine, bringing these extraordinary events to life. Emma fights to come to terms with grief and her country’s betrayal. Sophie seeks to reclaim her lost history, and Friedrich struggles with secrets that will throw all their lives into turmoil again.Pick up your copy ofAll That LingersAmazon UK • Amazon US
Irene Wittig I was born in liberated Rome to a Viennese mother and Italian father, lived in Argentina with my mother and new German step-father, and grew up in New York in a neighborhood of Holocaust survivors and fellow Europeans displaced by war.  I absorbed their memories of betrayals and courage, of sacrifice and difficult decisions, of strangers’ kindnesses and sheer luck. I understood that their gratitude for having found safety in America was tinged by longing for the lives they’d been forced to give up. The shadows of all they’d lost lingered, and drifted down to their children and grandchildren — and me. It is what inspired me to write ALL THAT LINGERS.

I am a member of the Historical Novel Society.


Connect with Irene: Website • Goodreads • Twitter.

Check out #HistoricalFiction author, Cathie Dunn's fabulous book — Love Lost in Time @cathiedunn

Love Lost in TimeBy Cathie DunnA word from Cathie....
Thank you so much, Mary Anne, for hosting me today. I’m delighted to share a few thoughts with your readers about my home of the last four years.
I’m fortunate to live in the historic town of Carcassonne, in Languedoc in southern France. The whole area is full of history, with settlements dating back to historic times. The Romans founded many towns and cities that still exist today. Remnants of Visigoth graveyards dot the landscape. When the Franks arrived, the area then known as Septimania retained a certain degree of autonomy (something that many here claim continues to date).


In many villages and towns, you will find memorials to the Cathars – a religious group that split from the Catholic Church – which was persecuted fiercely by the early and mid-13th century. Castle ruins perched high on hills invite you for a steep hike, their history entwined with the Cathar movement.
During the Second World War, the resistance movement was particularly strong in the region, leading to many casualties. The French are still holding regular memorial ceremonies on specific dates, more so than most other nations. There are well-tended war memorials even in the smallest villages and hamlets.
People here remember. They also like their sense of independence. Parts of Catalonia are to be found north of the Spanish border, and both Catalan and Occitan languages is still taught and in use locally. I might try my hand at Occitan one day, once I’ve perfected my French!


For a writer of historical fiction, this region is paradise. That’s why I based my last release, Love Lost in Time, right here. A dual-timeline story, it is set in 2018 and the late 8th century, when Charlemagne expanded his kingdom southwards. And my current work in progress, a medieval murder mystery series called the Loup de Foix Mysteries, deals with life during the crusades against the Cathars, but from a non-Cathar point of view. Loup was a real character, the illegitimate son of the Count of Foix, though little is known about him. Some charters bear his name, though, and he gained his own lordship through marriage. There’s so much fascinating history to use. I can see I’m going to have fun for years to come…

Love Lost in TimeCathie Dunn

A tale of love, death and redemption…
AD 2018Languedoc, southern France
Madeleine Winters discovers ancient female bones under her kitchen floor. How did the woman end up buried, all alone, in that particular spot in the Cabardès hills?And why was her back broken?
AD 777Septimania, on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea
Seventeen-year-old Nanthild must marry Count Bellon of Carcassonne, a Visigoth, as part of his peace agreement with Charlemagne. As a wise-woman, she continues to visit those in need of her help during Bellon’s frequent absences. But dangers lurk on her journeys…

Excerpt

Prologue
AD 793The hills near Carcassonne, Septimania
She woke to complete darkness.
As she tried to blink, earth covered her eyes. The dull thud of pain pounded in her head. She lifted it, only to find that she could not move. Her hands were tied behind her back, and her full weight bore onto her wrists and fingers. She could not feel her legs, as if they had dislodged.
Breathing was impossible. She opened her mouth to cry out, but all that emerged was a bare whimper, a sound suppressed by earth and stones. She spat but there was nowhere for it to go. The earth turned to sticky mud as it mingled with her saliva.
In desperation, she swallowed, gagging. But with every short breath she took, more earth blocked her nose.
Then her memory returned. And with it the terror.
He had buried her alive.
‘I curse you and your offspring in perpetuity…’

The Coffee Pot Book Club

★★★★★ 

Highly Recommended

Read the full review Here!




Pick up your copy ofLove Lost In TimeAmazon UK • Amazon US
Cathie Dunn
Cathie Dunn writes historical mystery and romance. After many years spent in Scotland, she now lives in Carcassonne in the south of France with her husband, two cats and a rescue dog.
Cathie’s novels cross several genres: historical fiction, adventure, murder mystery, and romance. Readers have praised her for her authentic settings.
Cathie is currently working on the first instalment in a new medieval murder mystery series, the Loup de Foix mysteries and on a novel set during the infamous Affair of the Poisons during the reign of Louix XIV.
Connect with Cathie: Website • Blog • Amazon Author Page. • Twitter • Facebook.

Check out #HistoricalFiction author, Hana Cole's, fabulous new book — The Devil’s Crossing #Medieval #NewRelease @HanaScribe

The Devil's Crossing

By Hana Cole

 

1212

 

The Chartrain, France.

 

Gui is a troubled priest who has been shielding his secret family for years.

 

Agnes, his beloved, is a falsely-accused heretic he rescued from the Inquisition’s pyre.

 

Their son Etienne, unaware of his father’s true identity, is coming of age. Tired of his lowly shepherd’s life, he seeks adventure. The Crusade is the perfect opportunity to prove himself to the world.  He has no reason to suspect the men offering him passage overseas are not what they seem.

 

Discovering that Etienne has been sold into slavery, Gui and Agnes set off to find him. If Gui is ever to tell his son the truth, he must give up his comfortable compromises and fight the battle of his life against the institution he has served devoutly.

 

Meanwhile, Agnes guards a secret of her own; she must face her past in a confrontation with her abusers that will either set her free or claim her life.

 

If they are to save their son and expose the slave trade, they must risk everything to overcome the powerful enemies who will stop at nothing to protect their positions and silence them.

 

Excerpt

 

Gui rode through the village before sunrise. Most of the houses on the square were stone, set around a fountain with his church in the far corner, its pink façade still grey at this pale hour. None of the shutters on the square were open, but Gui knew that when they were, there would be tattle on the tongues of those who poked out their heads to shake their coverlets at the new day. And they would be right. 

 

Priest of their modest parish for ten years this spring, he did not delude himself that no one speculated on his circumstances.  He had been exiled to this backwater under suspicion of freeing a heretic. With the trouble he had made for himself he was lucky to get that. His only regret was that it was not his burden alone to wonder if the day would come when idle chatter would harness malicious intent. Then the sacrament he administered would be worthless, and everything would fall. His stomach shrank at the thought. Even from behind closed doors he felt as though eyes were upon his every step. Just one careless regard or fond smile was all it would take. The very comfort her presence kindled could betray him in a way he knew his words never would.   

 

He followed the bank of the river Loir out of the village for a mile or so before crossing.  The morning mist dissolved under the mantle of dawn light, and he stopped his mule on the bridge to look across the plain, savouring this rare moment of solitude.  For the next few hours he was free from his duties as intercessor between the living and the dead, negotiator between man and the angels. On this road he was just a man, with all his flaws, grateful for the few breaths granted him where he might dare to imagine a life free of the obligation to hide his love.

 

There were early bluebells on the floor of the copse. He dismounted and walked through the trees, the bracken and leaves of forest floor a welcome change from the muddy road. Although she usually arrived before he did, today Agnes was not there. Gui took a seat on a fallen branch while his mule drank from the stream and cast around for a distraction. Soon enough he was fingering his rosary, mind lurching from anticipation to concern and finally irritation. He was at the mercy of some force of the heart beyond his control.

 

The same force that had turned the key to her cell so many years ago and kept that autumn night as vivid as ever it had been - the smell of burned char cloth and dampened hearths, their breath hot and fast on the air as they fled through the city streets to the sanctuary of her godmother’s house. He could still recall the heat of his body at the sight of her standing by the water wheel of the little dyer’s cottage.  How long it had taken him to separate desire from shame. Seasons passed, realisation dawned; he hadn’t freed her because he could not stand to see her burn, he had freed her because she was meant to be his.  And so it was.

 

Where was she? Gui rubbed his face vigorously and exhaled.  The long, familiar sigh that he knew as companion to affairs of the heart.  From the day he left for Montoire and realised he could leave every thing else behind except her, to the day she stood before him, eyes brimming with hope and fear, trying to find the right words. He had known straight away that she was with child. That he was soon to learn the true meaning of the word responsibility. Obligare, to bind. Also religare. Religion. 

 

Pick up your copy of

The Devil’s Crossing

Amazon UK • Amazon US

 

Hana Cole

 

Hana Cole is a novelist and historian. Born in Essex to an Anglo-Italian family, she studied Economics at the London School of Economics and Medieval History at Oxford where she gained her Masters. After living in Turin for several years, she travelled widely in the Middle East and India before returning to the UK. She has worked as a film subtitle translator, financial analyst and a yoga teacher. Hana now lives in Manningtree, Essex, with her husband, daughter and two cats.

 

Find me on Twitter.