Virginia Crow's Blog: Crowvus Book Blog, page 30

#HistFicThursdays - The Brantford Wagers - Nadine Kampen - Book Excerpt

 

This week, I'm super-excited to be teaming up with The Coffee Pot Book Club to share an excerpt from Nadine Kampen's new book, The Brantford Wagers! This is the first outing for her series, The Brantford Series.

First of all, let's meet the book...

Is Clara Vincent ready to risk it all for love?

Clara Vincent is “the artful dodger” when it comes to marriage, especially when her father is bent on match-making. Will her attitude change when she meets two eligible suitors and is drawn into the lives of intensely competitive families? Clara falls unexpectedly in love, but when fortunes are reversed and relationships up-ended, she needs to decide whether to trust James Brantford, who is seeking retribution, or accept the love of the man everyone else believes is her ideal match.

As the Brantford wagers unfold and lay bare the history of past relationships, will Clara be able to learn the truth and finally follow her heart?

And here's an excerpt to whet your appetite:
from Chapter 5 – The Stancroft Legacy
‘Mother! There is an old cart pulling onto the lane!’ cried Fanny, peering out the window. ‘Do you suppose it is that cousin? My word, has she come in a cart?’ 
‘It is about time she got here,’ muttered John impatiently. His mother had delayed dinner, and they had only just sat down, when they heard the sweep-gates creak on their iron posts. 
Catherine stood beside her sister. ‘She is travelling alone!’ she exclaimed.
‘Are we to let our meal get cold while she takes forever to come inside?’ asked John. 
‘At least she has arrived safely,’ said Isabelle, smiling at her brother. ‘That means we can all go to the party together tomorrow.’ Isabelle, at nineteen years of age, was three years younger than Catherine and a year behind John, yet most who met her assumed she was the eldest.
‘Well, I should not have stayed away in any case,’ insisted Catherine. ‘She could have kept us waiting for a week, travelling in a cart. What can she be thinking?’
‘She is coming inside now,’ said Mrs Stancroft, joining everyone at the window.
‘I say, she looks rather attractive,’ said the uncle. 
Clara was ushered into the room. Was this the same cousin they had seen many years ago and had heard so much about? Her solitary arrival and travel-weary appearance did nothing to impress the family. Catherine cast a critical eye and took in the mud on Clara’s travel cloak and the watermarks on her gloves and boots. From all the stories of the Vincent daughters travelling with their father, she had expected someone more fashionable and exotic looking. 
‘It is too long since we have seen you, Clara. You look so much like your dear mother.’ Stella Stancroft smiled at her warmly. Her private thoughts ran along these lines: ‘What a beautiful cut to the cloak, and such fine Italian gloves! If she can only dance, and sing a little, perhaps one of Mr Ashton’s friends might fancy her.’ When she saw her last, Mrs Stancroft had judged Clara’s height to be too tall and her manners too reserved. Yet Clara had been the one to receive—and decline—two offers of marriage. There was no accounting for it. Mrs Stancrofts’ daughters, pretty girls all, had not had the good fortune to refuse even one suitor among them. 
‘Clara, my mother has not said how long you are staying. Is it a week, or two?’ asked Catherine. 
‘I have not yet told them, dear,’ said Mrs Stancroft, embarrassed. 
‘I stay until the middle of November,’ replied Clara, ‘then rejoin my father at Wellsmere. He travels extensively in the coming months, and your mother kindly invited me here.’ 
‘Almost three months! Well, that is quite a visit,’ said Catherine. ‘I had not expected it. We shall begin to think we have acquired an older sister.’
By the time Clara was shown her quarters, she was surprised at how tired she felt. Preparing for the celebration at Wellsmere, and entertaining guests, followed by this journey with its incidents along the way, had in truth taken a toll on her. It was not in her nature to fret, but today’s events had left her worried about Old Perry’s health and her mare’s condition. For now, she had to content herself with the belief that all was well. She looked appreciatively around the guest room, which boasted a well-constructed bed and thick quilts to warm her.
There was a tap at her door. Fanny, next in age after Isabelle, had joined Catherine to visit her room. They appeared determined to hear all the news that Clara might have to share, and it became apparent that Clara would have to delay her sleep. Where had Clara been? What had she seen? Had she met any one of importance? What were the ladies wearing in London this season? Were they still wearing short sleeves, or long again? With caps, or without? Catherine complained that she had spent almost her entire life within ten miles of home and had only twice journeyed to Bath, as a child, and never to London, nor anywhere else of consequence—not that she particularly knew what she was missing. She laughed in re-telling Isabelle’s suggestion that she read about places she wanted to see.
‘Isabelle has even got Fanny looking into books. Look how dull she is turning out to be.’
‘I am not dull!’ cried the affronted girl.
‘Mama says that you have been to London many times and that you know all about getting into the assemblies. I intend to go there, next season. You could take me yourself!’
‘Unchaperoned?’ asked Clara, softening her tone with a gentle smile.
‘Well, yes. How is it you can flit around the country, then, and come here by yourself?’
‘I was accompanied most of the way, but we had a few unfortunate incidents.’ She explained the circumstances that arose along the way.
‘Even so, you spent the better part of today alone,’ said Catherine. ‘What I should not give to travel, either by myself or with someone. I would not mind either way.’
The conversation carried on in this vein, and as the minutes wore on, Clara felt weariness overtake her.
‘And how is Mariette? And her husband, and their little children?’ asked Catherine, taking no notice of Clara’s fatigue. ‘I cannot recall—do they have three children? Is it just two? And what are their names?’
It was almost midnight when Catherine and Fanny retired to their own chambers. Grateful to be alone at last, Clara slid under the heavy blankets on her bed and fell deeply asleep.
You can buy The Brantford Wagers from Amazon UK - Amazon US - Amazon CA - Amazon AU - Kobo - Google Play - Chapters-Indigo.ca


Now, let's meet the author:
In her début novel, The Brantford Wagers, Nadine Kampen draws on her passion for stories that bring a smile and warm the hearts of the reader. The author immerses the reader in the fictional world of traditional historical romance, set in the memorable Regency England period, sharing the hopes, schemes, and antics of her characters. 
Prior to her career as an author, Nadine served as a regional marketing manager with an international consulting firm and as a communications and marketing director on university campuses. Earlier in her career, she worked in public relations and journalism, and was co-author and project lead for five non-fiction books comprising The Canadian Breast Cancer Series, published in 1989.
A resident of Winnipeg in Manitoba, Canada, Nadine loves relaxing with family and friends, reading and walking, playing tunes on her 1905 Bell piano, and gardening.
You can keep up with Nadine's books on her Website - Twitter - LinkedIn - Facebook - Instagram - Amazon - BookBub - Goodreads

To follow the rest of The Brantford Wagers tour, click on the banner below:

#HistFicThursdays - Under the Weeping Willow (Sheltering Trees: Book Two) - Jenny Knipfer

 

Today it is my absolute pleasure to be hosting Jenny Knipfer and her wonderfully unique book, Under the Weeping Willow, as part of her Coffee Pot Book Club tour.

Let's meet the book...

A HISTORICAL NOVEL ABOUT A MOTHER AND DAUGHTER AND THE SECRET SHAPING THEIR ROCKY RELATIONSHIP

1918:

Just as Robin Holcomb settles into married life with her husband, Willis, on his aunt and uncle’s farm in Wisconsin, WWI calls Willis away. With an unknown future and a child on the way, Robin makes the best of life among people she barely knows.

After the birth of her child, Robin struggles with depression and battles to overcome her inner demons before despair and hopelessness drive her to attempt to take her own life. Will Robin survive her dive into postpartum depression, let alone see Willis again?

1983:

Enid Fenton clears out her Mother’s house and puts the family farm up for sale, trying to not be consumed by guilt for installing her mother into the county nursing home.

Reading through some of her mother’s diary entries, Enid uncovers a secret that helps her make sense of the unnamed point of division that has always soured their relationship.

Can Enid reconcile with her mother before the ravages of Alzheimer’s claim her?

Readers of historical fiction, Christian historical fiction, literary fiction, and women’s fiction will be moved as this novel takes them from the depths of a person’s psyche and grief to the pinnacle of long-hoped-for peace.

Praise for Under the Weeping Willow:
Knipfer has created a story that crosses many genres and will appeal to those who love poignant epics about complex characters, engrossing plots, relatable situations, and a satisfying ending.~ Tammy Ruggles for Readers’ Favorite, five-star review
A sensitive and well-crafted drama unpacking issues of mental health, layers of grief, societal expectations, and the instability of memory, this novel is touching on the surface, but subtly and profoundly layered with meaning.~ Self-Publishing Review ★★★★★
A heart-rending, emotionally packed love story between a mother and daughter, Under the Weeping Willow is a journey of loss and brokenness coupled with forgiveness and healing. This time-split novel captured my heart and didn't release it until the final page. Beautiful and haunting, Robin and Enid's story swept me to another era. These characters lived, and I loved watching them find their way to each other. Keep the tissues handy. You don't want to miss this story!~ Candace West, Selah award finalist and author of the Valley Creek Redemption series


Under the Weeping Willow also has a book trailer, which you can watch here!


You can buy Under the Weeping Willow from Amazon UK - Amazon US - Amazon CA - Amazon AU - Barnes and Noble - Waterstones - Bookshop.org

Here's a little excerpt to whet your appetite:
My daughter has always hated confrontation. I remember the summer when she was five. I went to do the laundry one day and found green peas buried in the patch pockets of her dress with the Hollie Hobby print. Mashed peas were also tucked in the front pockets of her jeans. When I asked her about it, she cried and admitted that she hated peas. She could have told me earlier. I would not have been mad at her, but apparently, she didn’t want to risk that. She avoided the situation by hiding the peas. Thankfully, Enie has grown out of the propensity to hide her preferences, but I believe that she still hides many of her true feelings.

Now, let's meet the author, Jenny Knipfer...

Jenny lives in Wisconsin with her husband, Ken, and their pet Yorkie, Ruby. She is also a mom and loves being a grandma. She enjoys many creative pursuits but finds writing the most fulfilling.
Spending many years as a librarian in a local public library, Jenny recently switched to using her skills as a floral designer in a retail flower shop. She is now retired from work due to disability. Her education background stems from psychology, music, and cultural missions.
All of Jenny’s books have earned five-star reviews from Readers’ Favorite, a book review and award contest company. She holds membership in the: Midwest Independent Booksellers Association, Wisconsin Writers Association, Christian Indie Publishing Association, and Independent Book Publishers Association.
Jenny’s favorite place to relax is by the western shore of Lake Superior, where her novel series, By The Light of the Moon, is set.
She deems a cup of tea and a good book an essential part of every day. When not writing, Jenny can be found reading, tending to her many houseplants, or piecing quilt blocks at her sewing machine.
Her new historical fiction, four-part series entitled, Sheltering Trees, is set in the area Jenny grew up in, where she currently lives, and places along Minnesota’s Northern Shore, where she loves to visit. She is currently writing a four-part novella series entitled: Botanical Seasons.
Keep current with Jenny by visiting her website at https://jennyknipfer.com. Ways to connect with Jenny via social media, newsletter, and various book sites can be found on her website. 
You can find Jenny on these social media links: Website - Twitter - Facebook - BookBub - Amazon Author Page - Goodreads - Instagram - Pinterest
Keep up with the rest of Jenny's tour by clicking on the banner below:

#HistFicThursdays - The Feathered Nest (The Thornton Mysteries, Book 4) - Ellen Read

 

 This week, I'm delighted to be teaming up with The Coffee Pot Book Club to host Ellen Read's fabulous new book The Feathered Nest on the #HistFicThursdays blog!

But, enough from me... let's meet the book:

Murder comes to Norfolk Island, but is the killer after Alexandra Archer’s Tahitian black pearl or a lost illustration of the rare Green Parrot?

The Thorntons, along with a small team of people, mount an expedition to Norfolk Island, a small island in the South Pacific, to study the Green Parrot and set up research programmes to help protect it and other endangered birds.

As a birthday surprise, Alexandra’s father tells her she is to be the official photographer for the expedition. Her father gives her a black pearl brooch that Alexandra’s great-grandfather had bought off a merchant in Hong Kong in the 1850s. The pearls are Tahitian black pearls.

Before they depart Melbourne, they learn that Norfolk Island has had its first murder. It sends ripples of unease through Alexandra. She hoped she could escape murder on this small island paradise.

Alexandra is astonished to learn that the main inhabitants of Norfolk Island are descendants of the Bounty mutineers and their Tahitian wives. Once on the island, she wonders if this is why her Tahitian black pearl brooch causes such interest.

A chain of events is set in motion, commencing with a threat on the life of one of their expedition members, followed by intrigue surrounding bird smuggling and a lost illustration of the Green Parrot. Then two of their team are murdered.

 Alexandra is determined to find the answers and nearly loses her life in the process.

You can buy The Feathered Nest from: Amazon UK - Amazon US - Amazon CA - Amazon AU - Universal Link - This novel is available on #KindleUnlimited

Now, let's meet the author, Ellen Read...
Ellen Read is the author of The Dragon Sleeps, The Inca’s Curse and The Amber Trap—historical murder mystery romance novels.
Ellen was born in Queensland, Australia. 
She loves to read fiction, non-fiction, and poetry. She particularly loves history and stories of ancient myths and legends. Authors such as Edgar Allan Poe, Agatha Christie, and Victoria Holt, the latter of whom wrote gothic mystery/romances, have influenced her own work.
Other interests include photography, painting, music and musical theatre, and dance. Ellen was a ballroom dancing teacher for many years and has also worked in Performing Arts administration. 

You can find Ellen Read on any of these links:Website - Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn - Instagram - Pinterest - BookBub - Amazon Author Page - Goodreads
Follow Ellen's tour by clicking on the banner below:

#HistFicThursdays - The Virgin of the Wind Rose: A Conspiracy Thriller - Glen Craney

 

 This week, I'm delighted to be hosting The Virgin of the Wind Rose on the #HistFicThursdays blog! This is an exciting thriller from award winning author Glen Craney, and I excited to be teaming up with The Coffee Pot Book Club to host him and his book!

But, enough from me... let's meet the book:

A Templar cryptogram has confounded scholars for centuries.

Is it a ticking cipher bomb just hours away from detonating a global war?

Rookie State Department lawyer Jaqueline Quartermane was never much good at puzzles. But now, assigned to investigate a ritual murder of an American in Ethiopia, she and a shady stolen-art hunter must solve the world's oldest palindrome—the infamous SATOR Square—to thwart a religious conspiracy that reaches back to the Age of Discovery and an arcane monastic order of Portuguese sea explorers.

Separated by half a millennium, two espionage plots dovetail in this breakneck thriller, driven by history's most elusive mystery....

... the shocking secret that Christopher Columbus took to the grave.

You can buy The Virgin of the Wind Rose from: Amazon UK - Amazon US - Amazon CA - Amazon AU - Waterstones - Barnes and Noble - Kobo - Google Play - Apple Books
Praise for The Virgin of the Wind Rose:
"If you love Steve Berry, Dan Brown or Umberto Eco, you may have a new author favorite in Glen Craney." -- BESTTHRILLERS.COM
"An exciting journey across time, with more twists and turns than a strawberry Twizzler." -- QUARTERDECK MAGAZINE

Now, let's meet the author, Glen Craney...
A graduate of Indiana University School of Law and Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, Glen Craney practiced trial law before joining the Washington, D.C. press corps to write about national politics and the Iran-contra trial for Congressional Quarterly magazine. In 1996, the Academy of Motion Pictures, Arts and Sciences awarded him the Nicholl Fellowship prize for best new screenwriting. His debut historical novel, The Fire and the Light, was named Best New Fiction by the National Indie Excellence Awards. He is a three-time Finalist/Honorable Mention winner of Foreword Magazine’s Book-of-the-Year, a Chaucer Award winner, and a Military Writers Society of America Gold Medalist. His books have taken readers to Occitania during the Albigensian Crusade, the Scotland of Robert Bruce, Portugal during the Age of Discovery, the trenches of France during World War I, the battlefields of the American Civil War, and the American Hoovervilles of the Great Depression. He has served as president of the Southern California Chapter of the Historical Novel Society.
You can find Glen Craney on any of these links:Website - Twitter - LinkedIn - Pinterest - BookBub - Amazon Author Page - Goodreads - Facebook
Follow Glen Craney's tour by clicking on the banner below:

#HistFicThursdays - The Last King (The Ninth Century, Book 1) - M J Porter

 This week, I'm thrilled to be hosting The Last King on the #HistFicThursdays blog! M J Porter not only writes amazing books, but also shares my love of Orkney! It is great to be hosting this book today!

But, enough from me... let's meet the book:

From author MJ Porter comes a thrilling new hero.

They sent three hundred warriors to kill one man. It wasn’t enough.

Mercia lies broken but not beaten, her alliance with Wessex in tatters.

Coelwulf, a fierce and bloody warrior, hears whispers that Mercia has been betrayed from his home in the west. He fears no man, especially not the Vikings sent to hunt him down.

To discover the truth of the rumours he hears, Coelwulf must travel to the heart of Mercia, and what he finds there will determine the fate of Mercia, as well as his own.

You can buy The Last King from: Amazon UK - Amazon US - Amazon CA - Amazon AU - Waterstones - Audio - This novel is available on #KindleUnlimitedOr read ahead here: Coelwulf's Company (prequel short story collection) - The Last King (Book 1) - The Last Warrior (Book 2) - The Last Horse (Book 3) - The Last Enemy (Book 4) - The Last Sword (Book 5) - The Last Shield (Book 6) - Amazon Series Link

Now, let's meet the author, M J Porter...
MJ Porter is the author of many historical novels set predominantly in Seventh to Eleventh-Century England, and in Viking Age Denmark. Raised in the shadow of a building that was believed to house the bones of long-dead Kings of Mercia, meant that the author's writing destiny was set. MJ Porter has also written two twentieth-century mysteries.
You can find M J Porter on any of these links: Website - Blog - Twitter - LinkedIn - Instagram - Pinterest - BookBub - Amazon Author Page - Goodreads
Follow M J Porter's tour by clicking on the banner below:

#HistFicThursdays - Horrible Histories 3 - Alexander the Great

 A couple of weeks ago, I shared my book review for Simon Elliott's book Alexander the Great versus Julius Caesar. Since then, as I mentioned in the review, I have completed the first draft of a short story set in 46BC-45BC which, now needs some serious editing before it can go out there... But it will be appearing later this year! It was about Caesar and he featured as a character, although he's not the main character.

So, having spent so much time writing about him and his time period, it's only fair I redress the balance and today look at Alexander the Great...

I feel like I know a lot more about him than I did when I started watching this song. He's a character from history who speaks to us all in our youth, because he is the epitome of the youthful adventurer. We all imagine we can do immeasurable things, although hopefully not as brutally as Alexander did them!

His story, though, was not one of rags to riches, but riches to glory. He took a great nation across the world to become a legendary people. But his interest in his home nation seems to have dwindled as he took on the world, a fact which led to several of his native Macedonians feeling aggrieved enough to confront him on this repeatedly. I think, in his eyes the Macedonians were Macedonia, and through them he maintained his link with home even as he travelled hundreds of miles away. The spirit of his nation was in the souls of the people.

From the point of view of historical fiction, we all have these characters. My sister is writing a book set in the aftermath of the Battle of Hydaspes River which I'm really looking forward to reading! But we don't have to be writing in fourth century BC to have Alexander the Great in our stories. That youthful yearning to prove yourself was written into Cat in Day's Dying Glory, the young commander desperate to prove his worth to himself was written into Robert in The Year We Lived. In Alexander's legacy it's clear that these things did happen, which means our characters are entirely justifiable.

All in all, if you're writing a youthful hero you couldn't do better than to have a quick look at this man's life. His story is timeless and he has continued to influence scores of generations over the years, his life passing from fact into legend. Perfect writing inspiration!

#HistFicThursdays - World Book Day! - My Journey into Historical Fiction for Children

 We're always growing as authors. When I go back and look at my first book, Day's Dying Glory, I can see how my writing has evolved - and certainly my books have grown, by some 10,000 words! This year, my historical fiction journey is taking quite a nerve-racking turn as Autumn will see the publication of my first book for children... This is something which is scary for a couple of reasons.

Firstly, most of my books feature the sort of events I wouldn't want children reading! The continued debate about trigger-warnings on books rages on and, while I do not write about these things graphically or gratuitously, those dark events are as much a part of my books as they are of history. You can't shy away from them, and they are what give the characters that push into becoming who their destiny - and the story! - demands. We can't delve into some of these events in a children's book. But neither can we ignore the dark events which happened - eeek! Dilemma!

Secondly, the books we meet and enjoy as children, whether read alone or read to us, are the stories which set us on our paths for life. What a responsibility! I've had conversations with so many adults who have been searching for the books they recall from childhood but are unsure of their titles. In some cases, I've managed to reunite them with their beloved books, but as many are unknown to me.

I began writing The Plague Rebels because I was asked by a local schoolteacher to write a book for her class topic of Medieval Scotland. She had tried out different MG books on the topic, but the children had not engaged with them. I accepted the challenge and I am so pleased I did!

I don't remember World Book Day as a thing when I was a child, but even if I had, I don't think I could ever have a better World Book Day than this year. Why? Because of this:

This is a display of the favourite characters of each of the P4 class who are reading The Plague Rebels. So writing for children might be so much trickier and more difficult, but I don't think I've ever done any writing more rewarding!

These deserve a few close-ups, I think...

Meet John the Cobbler (an odd choice for favourite, but he's certainly an important character!). I was pleased to discover this had also sparked a class discussion about what a cobbler did.

…about John the cobbler who had recently been married to Mistress Ada on the northern hillside by a mystical figure.

Then we have Father Giles - just look at these vestments! I love them!

As though sent from heaven, Father Giles stepped behind her and lifted his hand to the gathered mob.

One person even chose Lord Malcolm the Sheriff as their favourite, despite the fact he is the baddie! But they got his house perfect.

David smiled. "Not to Lord Malcolm," he chuckled. "I wouldn't ask him to feed me. He'd probably poison me."

Three of them liked Lady Agatha best. One even remembered that the story talks about her having cats.

"I saw her at the kirk," Matilda said with a smile. "She was fearless. She came out to confront the mob.""She is a very strong woman,” Moonlight Finn agreed. "A great role-model if you were looking for one, little lambkin. Did you know she refused to marry Lord Malcolm?"

I was pleased to find that a number of them liked David best, and one of them correctly identified that he is very sneaky!

Her first surprise was that it was a boy. The voice had been so hushed and gentle, Matilda had expected a young woman. Next, she was surprised to find that his eyes studied her as thoughtfully as she was studying them. And they were frightening eyes. They were wild and blue, even in the night light of the moon. She was about to step away from them, but he caught her wrist and laughed again.

And, of course, the main character Matilda was the chosen character of quite a few!

"There she is!" shouted the woman, and one of the men rushed forward, brandishing a burning torch in his hand.Matilda ran. She rushed from the house, which she had almost reached, and scrambled over the wooden gate. Tucking her woollen skirt in at the drawstring waist, she sped across the field, over another gate, and up the hillside beyond. The sheep parted before her, revealing her hiding place to her assailants which, she realised with growing fear, now numbered eight people. She sat beside one of the streams which ran down the hill and shuffled into the hollow beneath the roots of a clawing alder tree.

But the person who got the most votes was Moonlight Finn, the mysterious and grumpy alchemist... I think I would have chosen him, too!

"Why is he called Moonlight?""It's what he wears," David answered. "He doesn't often go into the village but, when he does, the people say his clothes shine like moonlight. No one knows why."
There is no wonder people love writing for children when we get such a fantastic response! I bet most of us remember at least one book which spoke to us as a child, shaped us, and turned us into who we are today. I can't help but wonder whether, thirty years from now, one of these children will be hunting out a copy of The Plague Rebels as a book which had a great impact on them.

Happy World Book Day, Readers!

Book Spotlight - Jaxon and the Naughty Secret Monster - Madeline Pratchler

 Today we're pleased to be hosting Madeline Pratchler and her book Jaxon and the Naughty Secret Monster, as part of her Goddess Fish book tour!

Let's meet the book...

Jaxon's enthusiasm for the simplest things bubbles out of him, and ideas continually pop out of his very large brain. His delight in helping plant the garden with his family creates a magical learning opportunity, and he's well on his way to being as smart as his dad. But sometimes his zest needs to be clamped down, and his blurting embarrasses others.

When Dad shares a surprise for Mom, Jaxon discovers the secret monster: a naughty guy who lives inside him, waiting to blab as soon as his mouth opens. Jaxon swallows him down and tells him to be quiet inside his head, but will that monster listen? And what about the next time when Jaxon plots a prank on the ice cream man?

And here's an excerpt to whet your appetite...
Our family gathered at the garden’s edge the next morning.  Bossy and Pepper eagerly and curiously sniffed and circled around the garden.
I could feel the sun get more powerful all the time – it was much warmer than even a few weeks ago.  I wondered why we only have one sun.  Spring would come much quicker if we had two.  But maybe it would get too hot then.  And then maybe we wouldn’t have night anymore and I kind of liked cozy evenings with the lamp on and Mom reading to us.  Yeah, I decided, one sun is probably enough.
The garden looked soft.  Super soft and squishy.  I pulled off my boots so my feet were naked and I could feel the earth’s coolness between my toes.  Dad put a shovel into the rich black earth and I saw a squiggly pink worm.
“Are those potato snakes?” I asked excitedly.
“Nope!  Earthworms.  Earthworms are good,” Dad explained.  “They eat the bad bugs, eat the peelings and stuff Mom throws in here, make tunnels in the ground so roots can breathe, lots of things.  Even their poop helps.”
“Earthworm poop would be pretty tiny!” I looked over that wide garden and wondered aloud, “Just how much could one earthworm poop anyway?”
Dad laughed. “Well, I hope there’s more than one!  I hope it’s more like … a couple hundred?  That would make all the difference.”
I was amazed to think that so many worms might share our yard and garden.  What else could be living in our ground that I hadn’t even thought of yet?  Maybe even dinosaur bones!
I looked up at Dad’s head and I saw tears dripping off it.  He wiped it away with a sleeve, but more tears replaced them.  He saw me watching and smiled.
“I’m hot!” he said. “What a great feeling, after a long winter of being cold.  So, working up a sweat is most welcome!”
As he worked, more tears came and his forehead made stripes under his hat every time he pushed the shovel into the ground. I pushed up my eyebrows and felt my forehead, but I don’t think I had stripes like that.  Maybe that just happens to grown-ups.
You can buy the book at Amazon and Barnes and Noble and it will be FREE for the duration of the book tour!

Now let's meet the author...


As a young child, Madeline Pratchler was always telling stories, and as she grew she wrote stories and poetry, falling more and more in love with words, ideas, learning, reading and music. She is an accomplished musician on the organ and piano, and not so accomplished on the violin (yet!). A prairie girl through and through, she delights in big skies, clouds, horizons, fruit trees, and her garden. She lives in Humboldt, Saskatchewan, with her husband and their four children. Jaxon and the Naughty Secret Monster is her first book.
You can keep up with Madeline Pratchler on her website and Facebook page!

Madeline Pratchler will be awarding a $10 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour:

Enter the Rafflecopter giveaway

Book Review - Alexander the Great versus Julius Caesar - Simon Elliott

Today's #HistFicThursdays blog is not fiction at all! Instead, I'm delighted to be sharing a Book Review for Simon Elliott's book Alexander the Great versus Julius Caesar - Who was the Greatest Commander in the Ancient World? I'm so grateful to Pen and Sword Books for providing me with a copy of this book.
These are two men I knew about vaguely, all the myths and legends and very little of the facts. And this book certainly took me deep into the intricacies of their military campaigns. It debunked a few of those myths I thought I knew, setting the record straight, and quite honestly making this pair a whole lot more engaging.

From the word go, I liked this book. Even before I got to the introduction, I loved the dedication. From it, I thought I might just have an inclination of which way the competition would go! The honesty of the author made the book very accessible, as he listed the fellow possible challengers for the title and why he had chosen these two.

There are a lot of Greek and Latin terms as you would expect, all italicised and well explained, and the attention to detail is excellent. This is a writer who knows his stuff! It's not a stuffy book, though. It's written in a way which made me feel as though I was listening to someone talking - a real skill in nonfiction! As you know, research is one of my favourite things about writing, and I'm looking forward to putting some of this new research into a story.

The layout worked well, looking first at one and then the other before drawing the comparison the title demanded. I feel like Elliott's pre-existing in-depth knowledge of the Roman side of the argument, compared to his admitted hero-worship of Alexander, led to a slightly different approach in the presentation of facts between the two, with Alexander's portion taking up the greater part of the book. This isn't a criticism, though, as it felt right to have these two men portrayed as the individuals they were and represented in an individual style.

The one thing I felt was an unfortunate omission was the lack of any maps. This was especially difficult with the explanation of the poleis states. Throughout the book, I continued to root out my own maps so I could be sure where we were. But I was invested enough in the narrative to make it worth my while hunting out the geography and - to me - it was not enough for the book to lose a star.

I did agree with the overall verdict, though not entirely for the same reasons as the author picked.  But, as far as I can see, that just means the winner is definitely...

Nope - no spoilers here!

This is a competition of the highest calibre, written in a very accessible style. If ancient military history is your thing, you should read this book. No prior knowledge required, just an interest in the topic.

I received a free copy of this book in return for an honest review - which this absolutely is!

You can buy the book from Amazon UK - Amazon US - Waterstones - Pen and Sword

Book Tour: The Gecko Without An Echo

Out now!The Gecko Without An Echo by Cheryl Bannerman (Author)andAnushka Bansal (Illustrator)

Blurb:

In a hollowed tree, in the woods, by the bay, lived Earl the Squirrel and Tim the Gecko. With his best friend right beside him, Tim wandered through the forest, calling out high and low – hoping to hear his echo.

But sometimes what we are looking for is right in front of us!

Let's find out how Tim discovered that when you need someone to listen, all you need to do is reach out to those who love and surround you.

Author Bio:
Cheryl Denise Bannerman is an award-winning, multi-genre author of seven self-published books. She is the winner of the 2018 Book Excellence Award for her book of poetry, Words Never Spoken, and winner of the Best Books Awards in the category of African American fiction in 2020 for Black Child to Black Woman. She is also a Semi-Finalist in the MLC Audiobook Awards with a 2020 IMDb Nomination for Book 1 of the Anna Romano Mystery Series, Cats, Cannolis, and a Curious Kidnapping.

Within the author’s first three works of fiction, Black Child to Black Woman, Words Never Spoken, and A Killer's Reflection, the author addresses critical topics of social concern, such as alcohol and drug addictions, racism and bigotry, domestic abuse and violence, suicide, and child molestation.

In her latest releases, a cozy mystery series entitled the Anna Romano Mystery Series, she hopes to provide relief from a somewhat somber world and spread laughter and smiles with the main character’s witty humor and ‘unintentional stumbling’ over dead bodies and into murder investigations.

Her goal in life is to keep writing and continue helping victims of Domestic Abuse/Violence, Grief and ANON family groups, and Corporate Health and Wellness groups, to heal through words — encouraging them to ‘write the pain’ via journaling, and expressing themselves through short stories, songs, and poetry.

She currently resides in Orlando, Florida, where she runs her 25-year-old Virtual Training and Development company, specializing in Instructional Design and eLearning.

In her spare time, she loves to read murder mysteries, attend museums, watch movies, try new cuisines, shop with her daughter, and take in the sun on the beach. And, although this author’s works are fiction, she has incorporated many of her personal life experiences into their stories.

Buy It Here:

https://amzn.to/3oQ3jw0

Keep in Touch (Twitter):

@cbannerman01

@KellyALacey

@lovebookstours 

@igbooktours