Linnea Tanner's Blog, page 16
November 15, 2023
Penny Ingham Twelve Nights #HistoricalMystery #MurderMystery #BlogTour #TheCoffeePotBookClub @pennyingham @cathiedunn
I’m delighted to welcome Penny Ingham as the featured author in The Coffee Pot Book Club Blog Tour held between November 14th – 16th, 2023. She is the author of the Historical Fiction/ Historical Mystery, Twelve Nights (The Heavenly Charmers Series), published by Nerthus on May 6, 2022 (360 pages).
Below are highlights of Twelve Nights, Penny Ingham’s author bio, and an excerpt from her book.
Tour Schedule Page: https://thecoffeepotbookclub.blogspot.com/2023/10/blog-tour-twelve-nights-by-penny-ingham.html
HIGHLIGHTS: TWELVE NIGHTS
Twelve Nights
(The Heavenly Charmers
S
eries)
by Penny Ingham
Blurb:
1592. The Theatre, London.
When a player is murdered, suspicion falls on the wardrobe mistress, Magdalen Bisset, because everyone knows poison is a woman’s weapon. The coroner is convinced of her guilt. The scandal-pamphlets demonize her.
Magdalen is innocent, although few are willing to help her prove it. Only handsome Matthew Hilliard offers his assistance, but dare she trust him when nothing about him rings true?
With just two weeks until the inquest, Magdalen ignores anonymous threats to ‘leave it be’, and delves into the dangerous underworld of a city seething with religious and racial tension. As time runs out, she must risk everything in her search for the true killer – for all other roads lead to the gallows.
Buy Links:
This title is available to read on #KindleUnlimited.
Universal Link: https://books2read.com/u/bpYRlk
Amazon US: https://www.amazon.in/Twelve-Nights-Heavenly-Charmers-Book-ebook/dp/B09ZRPGZL8
Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Twelve-Nights-Heavenly-Charmers-Book-ebook/dp/B09ZRPGZL8/
Amazon CA: https://www.amazon.ca/Twelve-Nights-Heavenly-Charmers-Book-ebook/dp/B09ZRPGZL8/
Amazon AU: https://www.amazon.com.au/Twelve-Nights-Heavenly-Charmers-Book-ebook/dp/B09ZRPGZL8/
AUTHOR BIO: PENNY INGHAM
Penny has a degree in Classics, and a passion for archaeology – during the summer months, you will often find her on her a ‘dig’ with a trowel in her hand. She has had a variety of jobs over the years, including ice-cream seller, theatre PR, BBC local radio, and TV critic for a British Forces newspaper.
She has written four novels – The King’s Daughter is the story of Aethelflaed, Lady of the Mercians. The Saxon Wolves and The Saxon Plague are set in the turbulent aftermath of Roman Britain. Her inspiration for Twelve Nights grew from her love of the theatre in general, and Shakespeare in particular.
Penny has two grown-up children and lives with her husband in Hampshire.
Author Links:
Website: Penny Ingham (wordpress.com)
Twitter: https://twitter.com/pennyingham
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PennyInghamAuthor
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/penny.ingham/
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.in/Penny-Ingham/e/B00478NKZ8/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15403859
EXCERPT: TWELVE NIGHTS
Adam Cooper’s expression shifted from righteous fury to wide-eyed surprise. His mouth began to move wordlessly like a floundering fish, and suddenly he was on the move, ramming into her shoulder with such force as he fled that the remaining bills flew from her hand and fluttered to the ground. Magdalen watched the clergyman until he disappeared into the crowds on Three Needle Street. What had caused him to flee so hastily? Was it something she had said? Why was she always so rash? Why did she always utter the first thing that came into her head? If the Puritan chose to report her to the constable, she would be whipped through the streets as a scold.
Without Adam Cooper to incite their disapproval, the crowd was beginning to drift away. No-one offered to help her pick up the playbills, even though she knew many of them would be in the audience for Twelfth Night that afternoon. Damn them. They were all as hypocritical as Adam Cooper.
‘Madam? Can I be of assistance?’
Magdalen felt a hand at her elbow and turned sharply. She didn’t recognise the man at her side. On her guard, she retreated a pace and looked him up and down. His deep blue doublet gleamed with the distinctive sheen of satin. His thigh boots were crafted from soft, luxurious, cordwain leather, turned over to the knee. Fine apparel, and a rapier at his belt. He was high born, a gentleman. And strikingly handsome too, with jet black hair framing a long straight nose and strong, angular jawline. Almost six feet tall, he had a soldier’s build; broad shoulders tapering to a slim waist, and strong muscular legs. His mouth was curving into a hint of a smile, and she wondered what amused him. A thought struck her. Had he watched her humiliation and found entertainment in it?
‘No thank you, sir,’ she replied curtly, and bent down to retrieve the bills.
‘Here, let me.’
To her astonishment, the stranger crouched down beside her and began to help, carefully wiping each bill on his cloak. It smeared the filth and made the damage worse, but she could not deny it was a thoughtful gesture. They gathered the bills, then stood up in unison.
‘Thank you.’ She held out her hand to take his share, but he kept hold of them.
‘Would you do me the honour of telling me your name?’
Their eyes met and, unexpectedly, she felt her breathing quicken. ‘My name is Mistress Magdalen Bisset.’
‘I am honoured to make your acquaintance, Mistress Bisset.’
Magdalen couldn’t understand the effect he was having upon her. She spent her days surrounded by handsome players, and he was no fairer of face. Unnerved, her tone was sharper than she had intended.
‘And might I ask who you are, sir?’
He doffed his hat and bowed, a flamboyant, courtly gesture, all sweeping hands and swinging cloak. ‘Matthew Hilliard, at your service.’
Magdalen’s outward composure gave no hint of her inner confusion. She tried to tell herself she was not impressed by his gallantry. Will’s plays often portrayed the world of courts and kings. She saw displays of chivalry upon Burbage’s stage every day. She tried to tell herself she had met the likes of Matthew Hilliard before, over-confident young bucks at the ‘tiring house door who wrongly assumed she was the players’ whore. She had given those men short-shrift, sending them on their way with a look cold enough to freeze Hell twice over. Surely Matthew Hilliard was no different from the rest? But none of them had ever made her heart race or her skin burn as if she was standing too close to the fire.
Flustered, she said, ‘Thank you for your assistance, sir, but I must take my leave.’
‘Wait!’
She turned back warily. ‘Yes?’
‘Do you truly work at the Theatre?’
So, he had been in the crowd. He had witnessed her humiliation, and done nothing to bring it to an end. Like the rest, he had enjoyed the spectacle.
Instagram Handle: @thecoffeepotbookclub
Bluesky Handle: @cathiedunn
November 13, 2023
Anna Belfrage Times of Turmoil #AmericanColonialHistory #timetravel #historicalfiction #historicalromance @abelfrageauthor @cathiedunn
I am delighted to welcome Anna Belfrage as the featured author in The Coffee Pot Book Club Blog Tour being held between October 24th — November 14th, 2023. She is the author of the Historical Fiction / Time Travel Romance, Times of Turmoil, released by Timelight Press on September 29th, 2023 (382 pages)
Below are highlights of Times of Turmoil, Anna Belfrage’s author bio, and her fascinating post about indentured servants in Colonial America.
Tour Schedule Page: https://thecoffeepotbookclub.blogspot.com/2023/09/blog-tour-times-of-turmoil-by-anna-belfrage.html
HIGHLIGHTS: TIMES OF TURMOIL
Times of Turmoil
by Anna Belfrage
Blurb:
It is 1718 and Duncan Melville and his time traveller wife, Erin, are concentrating on building a peaceful existence for themselves and their twin daughters. Difficult to do, when they are beleaguered by enemies.
Erin Melville is not about to stand to the side and watch as a child is abused—which is how she makes deadly enemies of Hyland Nelson and his family.
Then there’s that ghost from their past, Armand Joseph Chardon, a person they were certain was dead. Apparently not. Monsieur Chardon wants revenge and his sons are tasked with making Duncan—and his wife—pay.
Things aren’t helped by the arrival of Duncan’s cousin, fleeing her abusive husband. Or the reappearance of Nicholas Farrell in their lives, as much of a warped bully now as he was when he almost beat Duncan to death years ago. Plus, their safety is constantly threatened as Erin is a woman of colour in a time and place where that could mean ostracism, enslavement or even death.
Will Duncan and Erin ever achieve their simple wish – to live and love free from fear of those who wish to destroy them?
Buy Links:
This title is available on #KindleUnlimited.
Universal link: https://myBook.to/ToTABG
Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CJ7FYQVL
Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0CJ7FYQVL
Amazon CA: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0CJ7FYQVL
Amazon AU: https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B0CJ7FYQVL
AUTHOR BIO: ANNA BELFRAGE
Had Anna been allowed to choose, she’d have become a time-traveller. As this was impossible, she became a financial professional with two absorbing interests: history and writing. Anna has authored the acclaimed time travelling series The Graham Saga, set in 17th century Scotland and Maryland, as well as the equally acclaimed medieval series The King’s Greatest Enemy which is set in 14th century England.
Anna has also published The Wanderer, a fast-paced contemporary romantic suspense trilogy with paranormal and time-slip ingredients.
More recently, Anna has been hard at work with her Castilian series. The first book, His Castilian Hawk, published in 2020, is set against the complications of Edward I’s invasion of Wales. His Castilian Hawk is a story of loyalty, integrity—and love. In the second instalment, The Castilian Pomegranate, we travel with the protagonists to the complex political world of medieval Spain, while the third, Her Castilian Heart, finds our protagonists back in England—not necessarily any safer than the wilds of Spain! The fourth book, Their Castilian Orphan, is scheduled for early 2024.
Anna has recently released Times of Turmoil, the sequel to her 2021 release, The Whirlpools of Time. Here she returns to the world of time travel. Where The Whirlpools of Time had Duncan and the somewhat reluctant time-traveller Erin navigating the complexities of the first Jacobean rebellion in Scotland, in Times of Turmoil our protagonists are in Colonial Pennsylvania, hoping for a peaceful existence. Not about to happen—not in one of Anna’s books!
All of Anna’s books have been awarded the IndieBRAG Medallion, she has several Historical Novel Society Editor’s Choices, and one of her books won the HNS Indie Award in 2015. She is also the proud recipient of various Reader’s Favorite medals as well as having won various Gold, Silver, and Bronze Coffee Pot Book Club awards.
Find out more about Anna, her books and enjoy her eclectic historical blog on her website, www.annabelfrage.com
Author Links:
Website: www.annabelfrage.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/abelfrageauthor
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/annabelfrageauthor
Instagram: https://instagram.com/annabelfrageauthor
Book Bub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/anna-belfrage
Amazon Author Page: http://Author.to/ABG or http://amazon.com/author/anna_belfrage
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6449528.Anna_Belfrage
POST: INDENTURED SERVANTS IN COLONIAL AMERICA
In 1681, William Penn sailed across the ocean to found his colony, Pennsylvania. Armed with a royal charter and with a host of enthusiastic Quaker colonists, Penn’s ambition was to create something of a utopian society, as evidenced by the conserved plans for Philadelphia, a town that was to be clean and spacious, ensuring the health of its inhabitants.
William Penn was a Quaker, and most Quakers had firsthand experience of discrimination and persecution, none of which would ever be a problem in the fair colony of Pennsylvania. The Quakers also believed in equality. One of the reasons they were often thrown in jail was because they refused to address anyone with anything but “thou”. When faced with someone higher up the societal scale, one should use “you” – a bit like in French, where “tu” indicates familiarity and equality, “vous” respect. The Quakers insisted on “thou”, no matter if talking to their neighbour or the king. (Not that all that many Quakers ever spoke to the king, but still)
As a religious movement that believed in everyone’s equal value no matter gender, Quakers had—at least in theory—a problem with slavery. However, upon finally reaching their new colony, it soon became apparent that unless they found labour—preferably cheap labour—colonising all this new land would be almost impossible.
There was an established solution to the labour shortage problem, namely the practise of indentureship. This had been around for centuries. In essence, it was a contract whereby one person voluntarily entered the service of another person for a stipulated period of time. In general, any payments for the service were paid out in arrears, which meant an indentured servant who absconded could not claim on his back pay.
By the late 17th century, indentured servants had been around for almost a century in the New World. Initially, many came voluntarily, pledging themselves to work for seven years or so in return for getting a grant of land after their term of service was up. Thing was, the demand for new indentures exceeded the supply, which was how people were sent over without their consent, deported as it were. An efficient way of ridding the homeland of unwanted elements while also ensuring cheap labour for the colonists.
Whether forced or voluntary, the life of an indentured servant was no walk in the park. For a woman, there was the constant risk of being raped – these were societies with a chronic shortage of women – and should she become pregnant her term of service would be extended. The men ended up in the fields, disposable beasts of burden who were often worked until they dropped.
A disobedient (or “wilful”) servant was punished – in some cases so severely as to permanently maim the servant. Trying to run away was a serious offence that could lead to beating so brutal the person in question died, and on top of this the reluctant immigrants had to cope with food shortages and unknown ailments. On average, four out of ten indentured servants died before their terms of service was up. I have written at length about the plight of indentured servants in Like Chaff in the Wind, where my protagonist, Matthew Graham, effectively ends up as a mistreated beast of burden.
Times of Turmoil, however, is set more than fifty years later than Like Chaff in the Wind. Slavery had to a large extent replaced indentureship as the backbone of the economy in colonies like Maryland and Virginia, but in Pennsylvania indentureship still prevailed, albeit that some Quakers were beginning to reassess their take on slavery. Penn himself came to advocate slavery, saying that if you bought a slave you had a servant for life, which was a good thing. Hmm . . .
In Times of Turmoil, I have two indentured servants who play significant parts. One is Hans, the silent and enigmatic German indenture who is treated almost as family by Duncan and Erin Melville. Hans has lost everything he ever had back home and is determined to build a new life far from his past. He is also very anti-violence, having been a reluctant witness to the ravages of war.
Duncan came home to upheaval. Tim was sporting bruises and welts, there was a dead man wrapped in sacking in one of his sheds, and his wife . . . He suppressed the rage that lived inside of him, a snarling thing that growled and snapped whenever he caught sight of Erin’s swollen and bruised face. She looked as if she’d not slept a wink since the incident, and Mrs Andersson hovered round her like a worried mother hen. Only Hans seemed his normal, unruffled self, explaining tersely what had happened.
“Caleb will say you shot his father,” Duncan said with a sigh.
Hans actually smiled. “Ja. But with this, I shoot no one.” He handed over his pistol, and Duncan almost laughed. The flint was missing.
“Giles and Sivert will testify. Keine flint, ja? Never.”
“Then why carry it?” Duncan asked.
“People see what they want to see. A man pointing a pistol is an armed man.” Hans shrugged. “I have enough of killing.”
The other indentured servant is Tim. Some of the most vulnerable indentured servants were the children. Because they were so young—and therefore rather useless to begin with—they could be indentured for up to twenty years so as to recoup on the cost of transportation and bed and board. Tim is twelve when my Erin intercedes to save him from yet another brutal beating. Years of mistreatment have rendered him almost mute, and he flinches at any touch, having been conditioned to expect only pain. Sadly, in real life there were many Tims, lost boys and girls who had no one in their corner. No one. Tim, therefore, is lucky. Because once Erin had saved him, she had no intention of ever letting anyone hurt him again. A happily ever after to that particular indenture story—but then, I am partial to happily ever afters!
Instagram Handle: @thecoffeepotbookclub
November 8, 2023
Heidi Eljarbo The Warmth of Snow#ChristmasRomance #SweetRomance #RegencyRomance #BlogTour #TheCoffeePotBookClub @HeidiEljarbo @cathiedunn
It is my pleasure to welcome back Heidi Eljarbo as the featured author in The Coffee Pot Book Club Blog Tour being held between November 7th – 9th, 2023. Heidi Eljarbo is the author of the Sweet Historical Romance, Historical Fiction, Scandinavian Literature, The Warmth of Snow (Heartwarming Christmas Series), released by the author on 24th October 2023 (212 pages).
Below are highlights of The Warmth of Snow, Heidi Eljarbo’s author bio, and an excerpt from her novel.
Tour Schedule Page: https://thecoffeepotbookclub.blogspot.com/2023/10/blog-tour-the-warmth-of-snow-by-heidi-eljarbo.html
HIGHLIGHTS: THE WARMTH OF SNOW
The Warmth of Snow
(Heartwarming Christmas Series)
by Heidi Eljarbo
Blurb:
There must be a way to thaw a heart long frozen. Can she help him, or does he have other plans?
Sweden 1810.
August Brandell, the count of Linborg, has returned home after four years of war against the French Empire under the direction of Napoléon Bonaparte. Wounded and downtrodden, he is a meager shadow of the man he used to be.
One day, a lovely young woman comes calling. She’s strong and bright and, unlike the rest, seems unaffected by his wealth and unfortunate disability. He soon discovers he wants more than a sweet friendship, but a life of caring for him would not be fair to such a beautiful soul. Oh, how dearly, deeply he loves her and secretly wants her to stay, but he cannot and will not ask such a sacrifice from her…especially not when it’s out of pity for him.
Erica Gustava Ebbesdotter has primarily been left to herself since she was orphaned at an early age. Although grateful to her aunt and uncle for taking her in, they pay her no attention and even keep her in the dark about her parents.
Hearing about Count Brandell’s unfortunate fate on the battlefield, she knocks on the door at Castle Linborg to leave him a card of encouragement.
Meeting Count Brandell changes Erica’s entire world. Falling for him is utterly unexpected. Soon, he fills her heart, but he is far above her station. How can a man like him see beyond her less refined clothes and past? Worst of all, he is already betrothed.
This is a sweet and wholesome historical romance—a hauntingly beautiful tale of two hearts meant to be together.
Buy Links:
This title is available to read with #KindleUnlimited.
Amazon UK • Amazon US • Amazon AU • Amazon CA
AUTHOR BIO: HEIDI ELJARBO
HEIDI ELJARBO grew up in a home full of books, artwork, and happy creativity. She is the author of award-winning historical novels filled with courage, hope, mystery, adventure, and sweet romance in the midst of challenging times. She’s been named a master of dual timelines and often writes about strong-willed women of past centuries.
After living in Canada, six US states, Japan, Switzerland, and Austria, Heidi now calls Norway home. She lives with her husband on a charming island and enjoys walking their Wheaten Terrier in any kind of weather, hugging her grandchildren, and has a passion for art and history.
Her family’s chosen retreat is a mountain cabin, where they hike in the summer and ski the vast white terrain during winter.
Heidi’s favorites are her family, God’s beautiful nature, and the word whimsical.
Author Links:
Website: https://www.heidieljarbo.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/HeidiEljarbo
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorheidieljarbo/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authorheidieljarbo/
Pinterest: https://no.pinterest.com/heidieljarbo/
Book Bub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/heidi-eljarbo
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Heidi-Eljarbo/e/B073D852VG/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/16984270.Heidi_Eljarbo
EXCERPT: THE WARMTH OF SNOW
TIME IS A PECULIAR thing. The first of November is here. Leafless birch trees stand in silent parade along the allée. The birds of summer have flown south to places only God knows where. Outside, the first snow has painted the garden and fields beyond with an overwhelming whiteness. It comes and goes this time of year…the snow. And time deceives me, makes me believe I’m wiser, older—that I’ve experienced these seasonal changes a hundredfold. Yet, for me—Erica Gustava Ebbesdotter—it has only been twenty-four moments in time.
Erica put the quill pen aside and placed her journal in the desk drawer. The knitted shawl had slipped off her shoulders, and she pulled it back into place.
Even though the maid had lit the wood burning stove in her attic chamber more than an hour ago, the chill of the night still clung to the walls and floor. Erica lifted the latch and opened the door to add another log in the cast iron stove. Mesmerizing orange and yellow flames danced inside, playful yet confident.
She had nothing to complain about…not truly. An orphan who’d been taken in by an aunt and uncle who kept her dressed, fed, and somewhat socialized, Erica considered herself more fortunate than most in her situation. But no matter how often her fireplace was stoked or how many summers arrived with days of sun and warmth, nothing made up for the lack of affection and tenderness from her family at Holst Manor. A niece was not the same as a son or daughter—something her aunt had pointed out to Erica on numerous occasions.
Instagram Handle: @thecoffeepotbookclub
November 6, 2023
N L Holmes The Moon That Fell from Heaven #Hittites #WomenProtagonists #PoliticalIntrigue #HistoricalFiction #BlogTour #TheCoffeePotBookClub @nlholmesbooks @cathiedunn
I am pleased to host N. L. Homes again as the featured author in The Coffee Pot Book Club Blog Tour being held between October 30th — November 10th, 2023. She is the author of the Historical fiction, The Moon That Fell from Heaven (Empire at Twilight Series), released by Red Adept Publishing on 26th September 2023 (307 pages)
Below are highlights of The Moon That Fell from Heaven, the author bio for N. L. Holmes, and a post about her fascinating research on the Bronze Age port city of Ugarit in northern Syria.
Tour Schedule Page: https://thecoffeepotbookclub.blogspot.com/2023/10/blog-tour-the-moon-that-fell-from-heaven.html
HIGHLIGHTS: THE MOON THAT FELL FROM HEAVEN
The Moon That Fell from Heaven
(Empire at Twilight Series)
by N.L. Holmes
Blurb:
Ehli-nikkalu, eldest daughter of the Hittite emperor, is married to a mere vassal of her father’s. But despite her status, her foreignness and inability to produce an heir drive a wedge between her and the court that surrounds her. When her secretary is mysteriously murdered while carrying the emperor a message that would indict the loyalty of his vassal, Ehli-nikkalu adopts the dead man’s orphaned children out of a guilty sense of responsibility.
A young cousin she has never met becomes a pretender to the throne and mobilizes roving armies of the poor and dispossessed, which causes the priority of her loyalties to become even more suspect. However, Ehli-nikkalu discovers a terrible secret that could destabilize the present regime if the pretender ever learns of it.
With the help of a kindly scribe, her brave young ward, and an embittered former soldier trapped in debt and self-doubt, Ehli-nikkalu sets out to save the kingdom and prove herself to her father. And along the way, she learns something about love.
Buy Links:
Universal Link: https://books2read.com/u/mdqeeX
Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Moon-That-Fell-Heaven-ebook/dp/B0CGP7B5ML/
Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/Moon-That-Fell-Heaven-ebook/dp/B0CGP7B5ML/
Amazon CA: https://www.amazon.ca/Moon-That-Fell-Heaven-ebook/dp/B0CGP7B5ML/
Amazon AU: https://www.amazon.com.au/Moon-That-Fell-Heaven-ebook/dp/B0CGP7B5ML/
Barnes and Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-moon-that-fell-from-heaven-n-l-holmes/1143996343?ean=9781958231340
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/ww/en/ebook/the-moon-that-fell-from-heaven
AUTHOR BIO: N. L. HOLMES
N.L. Holmes is the pen name of a professional archaeologist who received her doctorate from Bryn Mawr College. She has excavated in Greece and in Israel and taught ancient history and humanities at the university level for many years. She has always had a passion for books, and in childhood, she and her cousin used to write stories for fun.
These days she lives in France with her husband, two cats, geese, and chickens, where she gardens, weaves, dances, and plays the violin
Author Links:
Website: https://www.nlholmes.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nlholmesbooks
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/n-l-holmes/
Twitter: https://www.twitter/nlholmesbooks
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/n l.holmes/
Tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/nlholmes
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/nlholmesbooks/
Book Bub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/n-l-holmes
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/N-L-Holmes/e/B0858H3K7S
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/20117057.N_L_Holmes
POST: RESEARCH ON UGARIT
My research on Ugarit, the mighty midget of the Late Bronze Age, began eleven or twelve years ago when I taught a course at the University of South Florida called Ancient Near Eastern Empires. Its main focus, of course, was the big players like Egypt and the Hittite Empire, but there’s no way to understand the dynamics among such polities without looking at border zones like Ugarit. This seaport and caravan terminus in northern Syria (near modern Latakia) wielded disproportionate influence because of its wealth. Sometimes a vassal of Egypt and sometimes of Hatti, they almost singlehandedly provided the navy of their Hittite masters, a landlocked power.
Having always been interested, both personally and professionally, in this part of the world—especially the Phoenicians—I had studied Hebrew and Arabic and found the Ugarites, with their closely related Semitic language, a fascinating bunch. My class looked briefly at the culture and art of the place, but then we got into the snippets of diplomatic correspondence that had survived the fiery downfall of the city in the early twelfth century BCE. That’s when my eyes really lit up.
Modern historians are indebted to the violent end of Ugarit, because the conflagration that spelled a permanent finish to its habitation also baked the clay tablets that made up its archives. Piecemeal and random though they are, they have given us incomparable glimpses into the diplomatic doings of Ugarit and its neighbors near the end of its days. One of the most interesting events, described partially in a number of different fragments, was King Ammishtamru’s divorce from his Amurrite queen, a Hittite princess through her mother. What on earth had she done, that such a prestigious princess would be cast off? It turns out there were inklings of sedition… and adultery. At first, she was sent home to neighboring Amurru. But then the king extradited her and had her put to death. Their small son had to relinquish any claim to the succession.
This episode provided the main plot of my first novel, The Queen’s Dog. When I set The Moon That Fell from Heaven in the same city seventeen years later, it was fun to speculate about where life had moved the survivors. What had become of the dispossessed little prince, for example? A lot of scholarly attention has turned in recent years to the causes of the so-called Sea People event that brought down Ugarit and many other kingdoms of the Bronze Age. It’s almost always agreed that the states that didn’t survive the collision had internal flawlines already opening: social unrest, dynastic infighting, flailing economies—here they all were in embryo. The Umman-manda were just one group of roaming dispossessed who wandered from the Aegean to the border of Egypt. By disrupting inland caravans upon which Ugarit depended in its luxury trade, half of the city’s economy was dumped overboard. Add to that a pretender with a good claim to the throne, and you have radical instability. The happily preserved archives of Ugarit dropped a myriad of hints, bare one-liners, that could add up to a fuller picture of a society close to the edge.
Other kinds of details came to me through more purely archaeological finds. For example, I studied the plan of the palace until I knew it like a native. Of course, that was only the ground floor—the upper stories had fallen in. But evidence of an earthquake was there. The garden and its kiosk were there. The court of the royal dead with its dynastic tombs was there, and the porch, and the bridge between the palace and the city wall. All these details gave me the geography of the action. And readers of The Queen’s Dog will remember the creepy sewer tunnel under the palace plaza, which really existed and lent itself so wonderfully to a clandestine crossing.
So when people ask “How do you start out a novel?”, it’s an easy answer. With research. Because there, buried in the pile of factoids about the past, are the outlines of everything an author needs: the events, the characters, and the setting.
Instagram Handle: @thecoffeepotbookclub
November 2, 2023
Victoria Atamian Waterman Who She Left Behind #HistoricalFiction #ArmenianFiction #WomensFiction #WhoSheLeftBehind #BlogTour #TheCoffeePotBookClub @cathiedunn
I’m delighted to welcome Victoria Atamian Waterman as the featured author in The Coffee Pot Book Club Blog Tour held October 30th – November 3rd, 2023. Victoria Atamian Waterman is the author of the Historical Fiction Who She Left Behind, published by Historium Press on October 17th, 2023 (230 pages).
Below are highlights of Who She Left Behind, Victoria Atamian Waterman’s author bio, and an excerpt from her book.
Tour Schedule Page: https://thecoffeepotbookclub.blogspot.com/2023/10/blog-tour-who-she-left-behind-by-victoria-atamian-waterman.html
HIGHLIGHTS: WHO SHE LEFT BEHIND
WHO SHE LEFT BEHIND
By Victoria Atamian Waterman
Blurb:
Who She Left Behind is a captivating historical fiction novel that spans generations and delves into the emotional lives of its characters. Set in various time periods, from the declining days of the Ottoman Empire in Turkey in 1915 to the Armenian neighborhoods of Rhode Island and Massachusetts in the 1990s, the novel completely immerses its reader in a lesser-known era and the untold stories of the brave and resilient women who became the pillars of reconstructed communities after the Armenian Genocide.
It is a story of survival, motherhood, love, and redemption based on the recounted stories from the author’s own family history. The narrative is framed by a mysterious discovery made almost six decades later of a pair of Armenian dolls left at a gravesite.
Universal Book Links:
Hardcover: https://geni.us/ze4W9eQ
E-book: https://geni.us/XzSFs3
Book links:
Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Left-Behind-Victoria-Atamian-Waterman-ebook/dp/B0CHJK7YQX
Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/Left-Behind-Victoria-Atamian-Waterman-ebook/dp/B0CHJK7YQX
Amazon CA: https://www.amazon.ca/Left-Behind-Victoria-Atamian-Waterman-ebook/dp/B0CHJK7YQX
Amazon AU: https://www.amazon.com.au/Left-Behind-Victoria-Atamian-Waterman-ebook/dp/B0CHJK7YQX
Barnes and Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/books/1144042403?ean=9781962465021
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/who-she-left-behind
Historium Press: https://www.thehistoricalfictioncompany.com/victoria-atamian-waterman
AUTHOR BIO: VICTORIA ATAMIAN WATERMAN
Victoria Atamian Waterman is an Armenian American storyteller and speaker who draws inspiration from the quirky multigenerational, multilingual home in which she was raised with her grandparents, survivors of the Armenian Genocide.
Her empowerment of today’s women and girls makes her voice ideal for telling the little-known stories of yesterday’s women leaders. Her TED Talk, Today’s Girls are Tomorrow’s Leaders has been seen by thousands of viewers. When she is not writing and speaking, she is reading, puzzle-making and volunteering.
Victoria lives in Rhode Island and is enjoying this next chapter of life with her husband, children, and grandchildren. Who She Left Behind is her first novel.
Author Links:
Website: https://www.victoriawaterman.net/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/victoria.waterman.9
Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/authorwaterman/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/victoriawaterman/
LinkedIn Author Page: https://www.linkedin.com/company/77096030/admin/feed/posts/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/victoriawatermanauthor/
EXCERPT: WHO SHE LEFT BEHIND
The village slept uneasily if it slept at all. Even the dogs were quiet, tails and ears low as they slunk along the sidewalks, hoping for scraps from the Turkish soldiers.
Further from the village center, the Karadelian house stood pale in the moonlight. The night was mild, the scent of light rain in the air, but Victoria’s palms were clammy where they lay flat against her sheets. Her next-youngest sister Yegsabet had crawled into bed with her an hour before, but Victoria was sure she wasn’t sleeping, either. She heard nine-year-old Mariam crying, her middle sister likely woken by baby Shenorig wailing in the night, and their mother’s steps in the hallway to comfort her. Mariam had already cried herself to sleep once that night. Two-year-old Lucine would sleep through it all, as she always did. She was too little even to be frightened.
Earlier that day, when the soldiers came to draft the men and boys for a special project, they’d pushed their way inside to scour the house for anything the family might have used to defend themselves.
Victoria heard warnings from the soldiers of insurgents and enemies of the state, but she didn’t understand how it applied to a prosperous cloth merchant whose shawls were the envy of every nearby village. She couldn’t understand why her family would need to defend themselves.
Instagram Handle:@thecoffeepotbookclub
Bluesky Handle: @cathiedunn.bsky.social
October 26, 2023
Book Spotlight The Winds of Change Joan Fallon #historicalfiction #adventure #Andalusia #SpanishCivilWar #BlogTour #TheCoffeePotBookClub @cathiedunn
I am pleased to spotlight the book The Winds of Change by Joan Fallon in The Coffee Pot Book Club Blog Tour held today, October 27th, 2023. The Winds of Change is a historical fiction / 20th century novel that was independently published by the author on September 30th, 2023 (322 pages).
Below are highlights of The Winds of Change and Joan Fallon’s author bio.
Tour Schedule Page: https://thecoffeepotbookclub.blogspot.com/2023/09/blog-tour-winds-of-change-by-joan-fallon.html
HIGHLIGHTS: THE WINDS OF CHANGE
The Winds of Change
by Joan Fallon
Blurb:
The Winds of Change is a story of love, loyalty, and betrayal on the eve of the Spanish Civil War, when the country is political turmoil with strikes and demonstrations, unemployment is high and the people are starving.
In this complicated love triangle we meet Ramon, a member of the Republican Left, who has accidentally killed a policeman and is on the run from the Guardia Civil and Hugo, the son of the wealthy owner of a local sherry bodega. Both men are in love with Clementina, the beautiful daughter of a well-known gypsy horse trader but there are obstacles in both their paths.
Hugo finds that when he tries to see Clementina again, both his parents and hers do everything they can to stop him.
Meanwhile Ramon’s brother, Pedro, is arrested and imprisoned because he will not reveal his brother’s whereabouts to the Guardia Civil. Now Ramon has to choose between his brother and the woman he loves.
This fast-moving historical novel is a story of love, politics, class prejudice, intrigue, and betrayal in the year leading up to the Spanish Civil War.
Buy Links:
This title is available to read on #KindleUnlimited.
Universal Link: https://books2read.com/u/bzB2oL
Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/WINDS-CHANGE-loyalty-betrayal-Spanish-ebook/dp/B0CHJW5DN9
Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/WINDS-CHANGE-loyalty-betrayal-Spanish-ebook/dp/B0CHJW5DN9
Amazon AU: https://www.amazon.com.au/WINDS-CHANGE-loyalty-betrayal-Spanish-ebook/dp/B0CHJW5DN9
Amazon CA: https://www.amazon.ca/WINDS-CHANGE-loyalty-betrayal-Spanish-ebook/dp/B0CHJW5DN9
AUTHOR BIO: JOAN FALLON
Teacher, management trainer and business woman, the Scottish-born novelist, Joan Fallon moved from the UK to Spain in 1998 and dedicated herself to full-time writing. She is now the self-published author of eighteen books, many of which are historical novels set in southern Spain, and focus on two distinct periods in the country’s history, the Spanish Civil War and Moorish Spain.
More recently she had turned her attention to writing contemporary crime fiction, with a series of novels entitled The Jacaranda Dunne Mysteries but her love of historical fiction has lured her back to writing about Spain in the 20th century in her latest novel The Winds of Change.
Author Links:
Website: https://joanfallon.co.uk/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/joanfallonbooks/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joan-fallon-3b097144/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joanfallonbooks/
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Joan-Fallon/author/B003B09VWY
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6440514.Joan_Fallon
Instagram Handle: @thecoffeepotbookclub
October 19, 2023
R J Lloyd Burning Secret #HistoricalFiction #FamilySaga #BlogTour #TheCoffeePotBookClub #CPBC @rjlwriteruk @cathiedunn
I’m delighted to welcome R J Lloyd as the featured author in The Coffee Pot Book Club Blog Tour held between October 9th – 20th, 2023. R J Lloyd is the author of the Historical Fiction Burning Secret, published by Matador on May 24th, 2022 (384 pages).
Below are highlights of Burning Secet, R J Loyd’s author bio, and an excerpt from his book.
Tour Schedule Page: https://thecoffeepotbookclub.blogspot.com/2023/09/blog-tour-burning-secret-by-r-j-lloyd.html
HIGHLIGHTS: BURNING SECRET
Burning Secret
by R J Lloyd
(Blurb)
Inspired by actual events, Burning Secret is a dramatic and compelling tale of ambition, lies and betrayal.
Born in the slums of Bristol in 1844, Enoch Price seems destined for a life of poverty and hardship-but he’s determined not to accept his lot.
Enoch becomes a bare-knuckle fighter in London’s criminal underworld. But in a city where there’s no place for honest dealing, a cruel loan shark cheats him, leaving Enoch penniless and facing imprisonment.
Undaunted, he escapes to a new life in America and embarks on a series of audacious exploits. But even as he helps shape history, Enoch is not content. Tormented by his past and the life he left behind, Enoch soon becomes entangled in a web of lies and secrets.
Will he ever break free and find the happiness he craves?
Influenced by real people and events, Enoch’s remarkable story is one of adventure, daring, political power, deceit and, in the end, the search for redemption and forgiveness.
Buy Links:
Universal Buy Link: https://books2read.com/u/brBBOZ
Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Burning-Secret-R-J-Lloyd-ebook/dp/B0B21XJM3Q/
Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/Burning-Secret-R-J-Lloyd-ebook/dp/B0B21XJM3Q/
Amazon CA: https://www.amazon.ca/Burning-Secret-R-J-Lloyd-ebook/dp/B0B21XJM3Q/
Amazon AU: https://www.amazon.com.au/Burning-Secret-R-J-Lloyd-ebook/dp/B0B21XJM3Q/
AUTHOR BIO: R J LLOYD
After retiring as a senior police officer, R J Lloyd turned his detective skills to genealogy, tracing his family history to the 16th century. However, after 15 years of extensive research, he couldn’t track down his great-great-grandfather, Enoch Price, whose wife, Eliza, had, in living memory, helped raise his mother.
It was his cousin Gillian who, after several more dead-ends, called one day to say that she had found him through a fluke encounter. Susan Sperry from California, who had recently retired, decided to explore the box of documents given to her thirty years before by her mother, which she had never opened. In the box, she found some references to her great grandfather, Harry Mason, a wealthy hotel owner from Florida who had died in 1919. It soon transpired that Susan’s great grandfather, Harry Mason, was, in fact, Enoch Price.
From this single thread, the extraordinary story of Harry Mason began to unravel, leading R J Lloyd to visit the States to meet his newly discovered American cousins, and it was Susan Sperry and Kimberly Mason, direct descendants, who persuaded R J Lloyd to write the extraordinary story of their ancestor.
R J Lloyd graduated from the University of Warwick with a degree in Philosophy and Psychology and a Masters in Marketing from UWE. Since leaving a thirty-year career in policing, he’s been a non-executive director with the NHS, social housing, and other charities. He lives with his wife in Bristol, spending his time travelling, writing and producing delicious plum jam from the trees on his award-winning allotment.
Author Links:
Website: www.lloydfamilyhistory.co.uk
Twitter: https://twitter.com/rjlwriteruk
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/roger.lloyd.948
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rjlwriteruk/
Amazon Author Page https://www.amazon.co.uk/R-J-Lloyd/e/B0B4KHGHXZ
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61333266-burning-secret
EXCERPT: BURNING SECRET
Dawn revealed London’s skyline of steeples and majestic rooftops. A dusting of snow had fallen silently during the early hours.
Enoch stirred himself. Stretching, he tried to rid his bones of the stiffness that had set in overnight. He had spent the last few hours unobserved in a dark alcove secluded in the corner of the inn. He hadn’t slept but felt rested all the same.
The bar, empty of its conviviality and devoid of its usual inhabitants, echoed every sound, and as the building cooled, its ancient timbers creaked and twisted eerily. The room was airless and fetid with the sour odours of stale ale, cheap tobacco and spent adrenalin. Detritus from the night’s event was randomly scattered: broken bottles, food- smeared plates, a discarded top hat, a muddy right boot perched precariously on a chair. For reasons that may never be known, a torn lady’s undergarment hung from a hook on the wall, and a bull terrier, bitten and bloodied from baiting, lay dead near the locked side door.
A small grey mouse in search of morsels scuttled from one hiding place to another. Two vagrants, who had secreted themselves about the premises before the tavern was bolted shut, searched the tables, swilling back stale dregs from half-empty tankards while keeping a sharp eye for lost coins and other flotsam dropped by careless owners. Having had their fill, they settled near the dying embers of the log fire to sleep off their pickings.
Whiling away the hours before first light, Enoch reflected on the evening’s prizefight. It had been a rare spectacle. Crowds had gathered early and thronged the dimly lit alley where the fighters would punish each other until exhausted. The thrill and excitement of the promised aggression infected the commotion, whipping up a bellowing force of roaring hysteria.
It began on the stroke of midnight to a tumultuous cry, which could be heard as far as Charing Cross. Each fighter, half-naked and glistening with sweat and oil, began slowly, testing each other, eager to avoid the embarrassment of a schoolboy error and the humiliation of an early knockdown. They chasséd around each other, mimicking the elaborate courtship of exotic birds. But once the first stinging, bare- knuckle jabs found their mark, the battle was joined in earnest. Spectators, inflamed by the smell of blood and the pitiless violence, bayed like a pack of hounds.
Conor tore into his opponent, clawing, butting and splattering blood with callous savagery. The younger lad retaliated with equal brutality, viciously hitting low and repeatedly battering Conor’s ribs with such force the crack of a bone was heard above the howling mob. Wounded and gasping for wind, Conor slowed and stepped away.
A man in the garb of a market porter, in danger of losing more than he could afford on the defeat of his favoured boy, broke free from the crowd and crashed headlong between the contestants. A gang of roughs, slashing and stabbing with blades, quickly extinguished the foolhardy intervention, a desperate attempt to give his champion time to recover, but the purpose was served, provoking an outbreak of angry scuffles and a free-for-all amongst opposing supporters.
During the melee, Conor’s midriff was tightly bound and, regaining his composure, combat resumed. The younger boy, sensing he had weakened his adversary, launched a remorseless, pounding onslaught. Conor withstood the withering assault, replying with crashing hammer blows about the boy’s head, opening a gash across an already swollen and lacerated cheekbone.
In desperation, his opponent thrust and gouged a thumb into Conor’s eye and, in the torturous grapple, bit and ripped half Conor’s ear from his head. Spitting it out, he again lunged forwards, butting his head with destructive force into Conor’s nose, splitting it asunder and spraying blood and snot over those in proximity.
Enoch had watched as Conor faltered and, deliberately lowering his guard, opened his defence. This was the cue. Conor was beaten to his knees where, without pity, the boy kicked and stamped him to the ground with feral cruelty.
The alley reeked of the sordid stench of sweat, gore and vomit. This was the attraction and entertainment enjoyed by street urchin, navvy and aristocrat alike. It was what they’d come to witness. Conor took a bloody beating, but he was a good lad and had done his work well, in the end, going down convincingly. Enoch consoled himself with the thought that Conor was young and would soon heal, returning a few months later when, with malice, he would take his revenge.
Instagram Handle: @thecoffeepotbookclub
October 15, 2023
War Sonnets Susannah Willey #HistoricalFiction #WWII #Pacific #BlogTour #CPBC #TheCoffeePotBookClub @cathiedunn
I’m pleased to welcome Susannah Willey as the featured author to The Coffee Pot Book Club Blog Tour held between October 16th – 20th, 2023. Susannah Willey is the author of the Historical Fiction / World War II novel, War Sonnets, published by Utter Loonacy Press on July 5th, 2023 (364 pages).
Below are highlights of War Sonnets, Susannah Willey’s author bio, and an excerpt from her book.
Tour Schedule Page: https://thecoffeepotbookclub.blogspot.com/2023/09/blog-tour-war-sonnets-by-susannah-willey.html
HIGHLIGHTS: WAR SONNETS
War Sonnets
By Susannah Willey
Blurb:
1942
In the war-torn jungles of Luzon, two soldiers scout the landscape. Under ordinary circumstances they might be friends, but in the hostile environment of World War II, they are mortal enemies.
Leal Baldwin, a US Army sergeant, writes sonnets. His sights are set on serving his country honorably and returning home in one piece. But the enemy is not always Japanese…Dooley wants Leo’s job, and he’ll do whatever it takes to get it…Leo finds himself fighting for his reputation and freedom.
Lieutenant Tadashi Abukara prefers haiku. He has vowed to serve his emperor honorably, but finds himself fighting a losing battle. Through combat, starvation, and the threat of cannibalism, Tadashi’s only thought is of survival and return to his beloved wife and son. As Leo and Tadashi discover the humanity of the other side and the questionable moral acts committed by their own, they begin to ask themselves why they are here at all. When they at last meet in the jungles of Luzon, only one will survive, but their poetry will live forever.
Buy Links:
Universal Link: https://books2read.com/u/47dpEa
Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/War-Sonnets-Susannah-Willey-ebook/dp/B0C2LNSQ33
Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/War-Sonnets-Susannah-Willey-ebook/dp/B0C2LNSQ33
Amazon AU: https://www.amazon.com.au/War-Sonnets-Susannah-Willey-ebook/dp/B0C2LNSQ33
Amazon CA: https://www.amazon.ca/War-Sonnets-Susannah-Willey-ebook/dp/B0C2LNSQ33
Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/war-sonnets-susannah-willey/1143404643?ean=9798988222002
AUTHOR BIO: SUSANNAH WILLEY
Susannah Willey is a baby boomer, mother of four, grandmother of three, and a recovering nerd. To facilitate her healing, she writes novels. In past lives, she has been an office assistant, stay-at-home-mom, Special Education Teaching Assistant, School Technology Coordinator, and Emergency Medical Technician. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Instructional Computing from S.U.N.Y. Empire State College, and a Master’s Degree in Instructional Design from Boise State University.
Susannah grew up in the New York boondocks and currently lives in Central New York with her companion, Charlie, their dogs, Magenta and Georgie, and Jelly Bean the cat.
Author Links:
Website: https://www.utterloonacy.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/writerSusannah
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/susannahwilley
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/bbittel71/
Threads: https://www.threads.net/@susannahwilley
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Susannah-Willey/author/B0C349ZF1V
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/32210037.Susannah_Willey
Alliance of Independent Authors: https://www.allianceindependentauthors.org/members/susannah-willey/author-profile
Historical Fiction Company: https://www.thehistoricalfictioncompany.com/authors/susannah-willey
EXCERPT: WAR SONNETS
“You wanted to see me, sir?” Leo stood at attention as he addressed Captain Mickelson. The summons had come after a long night of recon patrol. He was hot and dirty, and all he wanted was a little sleep.
“I did, Sergeant.” The captain set aside the papers he’d been reading. “At ease.” He gestured toward the empty chair and waited for Leo to sit. “We’ve got a problem.”
“Sir?” Leo searched his brain. Had he made a misstep somewhere? Did this have something to do with Ryan’s sudden interest in Dooley?
“There’s been a complaint.” Mickelson lifted the paper in front of him. “Someone thinks you’re putting your soldiers in harm’s way unnecessarily.”
Leo’s eyes widened. He opened his mouth to speak.
But Mickelson raised a hand to stop him. “The formal charge would be reckless endangerment.”
A wave of cold electricity spread through Leo’s body. According to the Uniform Code of Military Justice, that could mean a dishonorable discharge, maybe even confinement. Could he be subject to criminal charges? He trembled slightly as the adrenaline diffused. He clasped his hands together to steady them and took a slow, deep breath.
“May I ask who filed the complaint?” It had to be Dooley—didn’t it? Leo ran through the names of his men, trying to remember any beefs they might have. He came up blank. He couldn’t imagine any of them not coming to him first.
Could it have been someone outside of his squad? Possibly, Leo thought, but who? And why?
“All I can say at this time is it’s one of your men.” Mickelson closed the folder and set it aside. “This will be an Article 15 investigation for now. I’ll be the one to decide if the charges are legitimate. If our findings support the claim, a court-martial under Article 114 may be in order.”
Leo’s mind was reeling. An Article 15 was meant for a minor offense and usually resulted in not much more than a slap on the wrist. At worst, he might be demoted or lose pay. What bothered him most was the stain it would bring to his service record, but it was better than going to jail. Still, if he should have done something more to prevent Richards’s death, he deserved to be punished.
“This meeting is simply to inform you of the complaint,” Mickelson said. “For the time being, you’ll remain in command. This is still a war zone, and we can’t afford to take anyone off duty. Lieutenant Ryan and I will look into this matter further and advise you when we’ve reached a decision.”
Leo felt as if he should say something, but what? That Dooley was out to get him? Should he tell the captain he thought Richards’s death might be his fault? Would that be considered an admission of guilt that would bring criminal charges? Maybe the best thing was to say nothing.
“Do you have any questions, Sergeant?” Mickelson asked.
“No, sir.” Leo shifted nervously in his chair. He so wanted to tell the captain how he really felt, but he knew that now was not the right time.
“You’re dismissed.”
Leo stood and saluted, waited for Mickelson to return the salute, then turned and left the tent. He might not be able to say much to the captain, but he sure as heck had words for Dooley.
X X X
“What the heck are you up to, Dooley?” Leo stormed into Dooley’s tent, his fists clenched, his eyes ablaze.
Dooley looked up from his cot. “Whaddaya mean, buddy?”
“That’s Sergeant Baldwin to you,” Leo growled. He struggled to control the shaking in his body, to contain the anger and feeling of betrayal.
“Okay, Sergeant Baldwin.” He waved his hand dismissively. “What’s the problem?”
What’s the problem? Could Dooley seriously think Leo didn’t know? He desperately wanted to grab him by the shirt, throw him up against the tent, and beat the tar out of him. Instead, he took a deep breath and forced the tension from his voice.
“You filed a complaint, didn’t you?”
“What complaint?” he said, feigning innocence. Dooley suppressed a smirk.
Unbelievable. Leo pushed down his anger. “You know damn well,” he said. “Nobody else would have done it.”
“Maybe nobody else had the balls to do it.” Dooley didn’t try to hide the triumphant grin. “Course Richards ain’t got balls at all anymore, does he?”
Leo lunged at Dooley. “So, you are the one who complained.”
“Cool it, man,” Dooley leaned back and held his hands up. “I never said I filed any complaint. But I am sayin’ I ain’t surprised.” He crossed his arms. “That was a pretty bone-headed thing you did with Richards. You coulda got us all killed just ’cause you didn’t want to get rid of your little buddy.”
“He wasn’t my little buddy.” Oh, how he wanted to punch that smirk off Dooley’s face. “He was a kid in trouble, and I did what I thought was right.”
Dooley raised an eyebrow. “Like you did with your pal Furness?”
Leo took a step back. “You’d better stay out of my way, Nelson.”
He stormed out of the tent, picked up a rock, and threw it as far as he could, wishing it was Dooley.
Dooley waited until Leo was out of earshot. “It’s a little too late for that, buddy.”
Instagram Handle: @thecoffeepotbookclub
October 10, 2023
Book Spotlight Drumbeats Julia Ibbotson #HistoricalFiction #Romance #Mystery #WomensFiction #BlogTour #TheCoffeePotBookClub #CPBC @JuliaIbbotson @cathiedunn
I am pleased to spotlight the book Drumbeats (The Drumbeats Trilogy, Book #1) by Julia Ibbotson in The Coffee Pot Book Club Blog Tour held between October 9th – 13th, 2023. Drumbeats is a Romance / Historical Mystery (20th Century) re-published by Archbury Books on June 21st, 2023 (230 pages).
Below are highlights of Drumbeats and Julia Ibbotson’s author bio.
Tour Schedule Page: https://thecoffeepotbookclub.blogspot.com/2023/08/blog-tour-drumbeats-by-julia-ibbotson.html
HIGHLIGHTS: DRUMBEATS
Drumbeats
(The Drumbeats Trilogy, Book #1)
by Julia Ibbotson
Blurb:
It’s 1965, and 18 year old Jess escapes her stifling English home for a gap year in Ghana, West Africa. But it’s a time of political turbulence across the region. Fighting to keep her young love who waits back in England, she’s thrown into the physical and emotional dangers of civil war, tragedy and the conflict of a disturbing new relationship. And why do the drumbeats haunt her dreams?
This is a rite of passage story which takes the reader hand in hand with Jess on her journey towards the complexities and mysteries of a disconcerting adult world.
This is the first novel in the acclaimed Drumbeats trilogy: Drumbeats, Walking in the Rain, Finding Jess.
For fans of Dinah Jefferies, Kate Morton, Rachel Hore, Jenny Ashcroft
Buy Links:
This title is available to read on #KindleUnlimited.
Amazon UK Amazon US Amazon CA Amazon AU
AUTHOR BIO: JULIA IBBOTSON
Award-winning author Julia Ibbotson herself spent an exciting time in Ghana, West Africa, teaching and nursing (like Jess in her books), and always vowed to write about the country and its past. And so, the Drumbeats Trilogy was born. She’s also fascinated by history, especially by the medieval world, and concepts of time travel, and has written haunting time-slips of romance and mystery partly set in the Anglo-Saxon period.
She studied English at Keele University, England, specialising in medieval language, literature and history, and has a PhD in linguistics. She wrote her first novel at age 10, but became a school teacher, then university lecturer and researcher. Her love of writing never left her and to date she’s written 9 books, with a 10th on the way.
Julia is a member of the Romantic Novelists Association, Society of Authors, and the Historical Novel Society.
Author Links:
Website: https://juliaibbotsonauthor.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/JuliaIbbotson
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JuliaIbbotsonauthor
LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/dr-julia-ibbotson-62a5401a
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/julia.ibbotson/
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.co.uk/juliai1
Amazon Author Page: https://Author.to/JuliaIbbotsonauthor
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/juliaibbotson
Instagram Handle: @thecoffeepotbookclub
October 9, 2023
James Gault King’s Warrior #HistoricalFiction #AngloSaxon #medieval #BlogTour #TheCoffeePotBookClub @ozjimg @cathiedunn
I’m pleased to welcome the featured author, James Gault, to The Coffee Pot Book Club Blog Tour that is being held between September 26th – October 17th, 2023. James Gault is the author of the Historical Fiction, King’s Warrior (The Owerd Chronicles, Book #3), Greyson Hall (British Agents Series, Book #4), independently published by the author on July 18th, 2023 (294 pages).
Below are highlights of King’s Warrior, James Gault’s author bio, and an excerpt from his book.
Tour Schedule Page: https://thecoffeepotbookclub.blogspot.com/2023/08/blog-tour-kings-warrior-by-james-gault.html
HIGHLIGHTS: KING’S WARRIOR
King’s Warrior
(The Owerd Chronicles, Book 3)
By James Gault
Blurb:
In 11th Century England, King William has achieved almost total domination of the Englisc and turns his attention to Scotland. Owerd, possibly the last of the Britons to be deemed ‘lord’, faces powerful enemies from all quarters. He seems to hold the king’s favour by a thread, which only serves to encourage others to try and bring him down.
Treachery abounds as he tries to juggle multiple roles and prove himself and his men worthy warriors for the Norman king. But will his lust for a woman finally prove his undoing?
Note from the author:
11th Century men and women were just as complex beings as we are today. Owerd, the main character in these chronicles is no different. In “King’s Warrior”, the third book of the series, he goes from violence (“…the air was filled with the clash of swords, angry shouts, and screams of the injured”) to compassion (“… Owerd had rarely, if ever, made love as tenderly as he did with Runa that night”) in the space of a day.
Happiness, fear, disgust, anger, pride and jealousy all play their part in Owerd’s character but what comes to the fore is courage, with perhaps a helping hand from fate – “wyrd” if you will.
Buy Links:
This title is available to read on #KindleUnlimited.
Universal Link: https://books2read.com/u/4A27gp
Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0CC5VH6BM
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AUTHOR BIO: JAMES GAULT
James is a semi-retired Naval Captain with an abiding interest in storytelling and history. He has written a few contemporary fiction stories and a history text but lately has concentrated on historical fiction. He lives in a small coastal town in SE Australia – which provides quite a challenge when addressing medieval England with the aid of an old-school atlas.
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EXCERPT: KING’S WARRIOR
Archbishop Thomas’ mount was a magnificent grey almost as tall as Demon, but fortunately a mare or fighting would have been inevitable. A pair of assistants accompanying him, both young monks, rode smaller horses that had the look of sumpters. Regardless, they were all ready to depart at the agreed time and Owerd was pleased to see that Runa, tucked in next to Cadoc as they formed up, looked largely indistinguishable from the other housecarls. The formation broke into a canter as soon as they were clear of the camp and followed a track to the north-east which skirted a range of barren-looking hills.
Once they had overcome the awkwardness of “Your Excellency” and “Lord Owerd” between them, the two leaders settled into an easy relationship. The archbishop was an accomplished rider and made a good conversation as they rode, extolling the wonders of Rome and of his other travels on the continent. He was still smarting over being forced to give up any authority south of the Humber River and having to accept the primacy of the Archbishop of Canterbury. Owerd could not help but detect some animosity Thomas held toward Archbishop Lanfranc, with whom he had once studied in Normandy.
‘I could use a man like you in York, Owerd’, he mentioned at one stage. ‘These northern Englisc are an independent and irascible breed and need a firm hand such as yours on occasion. Let us hope the Scots, though not dissimilar, see the wisdom of the peaceful outcome our own king wishes from this confrontation we ride towards. Even so, I trust them not’.
Owerd could only agree, but held his tongue and determined to keep himself and his men alert. A break for men and horses as the sun reached its zenith saw Cuthbert approach him.
‘I suspect that you will be aware, my lord, that we are being watched’.
‘I am’, Owerd responded honestly. ‘I saw them a little while back; perhaps a dozen riders keeping pace just to the west of us. It is to be expected; we are entering the heartland of the Scots and we might have more concern had we seen no-one monitoring our progress. Keep the men calm but alert please Cuthbert’.
That did serve to remind him of the peaceful intent of their mission and he took out his seax to slice off a small branch of the nearest greenery.
‘I have no inclination to go searching the wilds for a lost olive tree’, he jested to Thomas, ‘this will need suffice’.
Within an hour of being back in the saddle, one of the scouts returned to seek directions. They had come across a river with no obvious crossing and wished to know which way to search.
‘This is not yet the River Tay, I think, Owerd’, advised the archbishop. ‘I suggest we travel a little way east for a while. There must be a crossing nearby for travelers journeying north’.
His judgement was accurate. Less than a quarter hour later as they followed the river east, they came upon an obvious crossing. What made it more obvious than usual was the presence of a large body of soldiers on the opposite side arrayed in a shield wall. There were probably a hundred or more, Owerd saw, mostly on foot and in as broad a range of outfits as the variety of weapons they held. There were broadswords, pikes, axes and other implements but all held firmly and with shields close together. The conroi halted just as Osmont, their rear scout rode up to advise that the group of riders that had been tracking them had formed up to block the track leading south.
‘Have the men stay mounted, Cuthbert. If we are forced to fight then we go south with the lances to the fore’. Owerd turned to the archbishop. ‘Your excellency’, he began formally, ‘I beg you allow me to make the first approach’. A nod was all the response necessary.
Owerd raised his branch high in his left hand to signify a peaceful approach whilst also pushing his helmet more firmly down on his head, easing his sword in its scabbard and riding into the water of what he hoped was a shallow ford. The Scots had left sufficient room for him to urge Demon up a slight bank on to dry ground and he halted a couple of paces in front of a dour heavily bearded man atop a mountain pony that looked too small for him.
‘I am Lord Owerd of the Englisc king’s army. I come in peace escorting his excellency the Archbishop of York who seeks audience with your King Malcolm’.
Owerd held his breath and the Scot seemed to be doing the same for it was some moments before he spoke.
‘Ri Mael Coluim mac Donnchada is expecting you, Owerd of the Englisc’, the man said, or at least that is what Owerd thought he said as he failed to understand the Gaelic. ‘I am Domnall, Mormaer of Fife. You may bring the archbishop and one other a quarter-hour ride north with me. Your men may camp hereabouts but remain on the other side of the river. We may be back soon or away the night’.
Owerd gave a slight bow in acknowledgement and turned Demon to recross the river.
‘Your excellency, we are to be escorted north to King Malcolm who is apparently expecting us. We may take one other’.
‘Good! I need my scribe. Neel’ he called loudly. That caused much confusion in the ranks who thought they were being ordered to kneel. Fortunately, none dismounted and all became clear when one of the archbishop’s monks trotted to the front. Owerd briefed Cuthbert on what was to occur and added a caution both to accept neither food nor drink from the Scots and to ensure that Runa was kept safe and preferably out of sight.
‘Neel, you will accompany Lord Owerd and myself to meet King Malcolm and record all that is pertinent’.
Neel nodded and the threesome crossed the river.
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