Linnea Tanner's Blog, page 5
June 29, 2025
Book Spotlight Fate: Tales of History, Mystery and Magic Award Winning Authors #Anthology #ShortStories #HistoricalFiction #HistoricalMystery #HistoricalFantasy #AwardWinningAuthors #BlogTour #TheCoffeePotBookClub @HelenHollick @cathiedunn
It’s my pleasure to spotlight the book of short stories, FATE: Tales of History, Mystery and Magic, by award winning authors in the The Coffee Pot Book Club Blog Tour being held today on June 30th. The anthology of short stories about history, mystery, and magic was published by Taw River Press on 16th June 2025 (244 pages.)
Below are highlights of FATE: Tales of History, Mystery and Magic and highlights of each short story in the anthology followed by the respective author bio.
Tour Schedule Page: https://thecoffeepotbookclub.blogspot.com/2025/05/blog-tour-fate-tales-of-history-mystery-and-magic.html
HIGHLIGHTS: FATETALE OF HISTORY, MYSTERY, AND MAGIC
FATE: Tales of History, Mystery and Magic
Authors: Annie Whitehead, Jean Gill, Marian L Thorpe, Helen Hollick, Alison Morton, Elizabeth St.John,
R. Marsden, Anna Belfrage, J. P Reedman, Debbie Young.
Blurb:
If you had a crystal ball to predict what lay ahead, would you be tempted to use it? Or would you leave the future to the turn of Fate?
Tales of Variety. Tales of History, Mystery and Magic – some comprising just one of these popular fiction genres, others, a mild mixture of all three. Perhaps you prefer historical fiction rather than a story about magic or fantasy? Maybe you enjoy exploring new themes or prefer sticking to the familiar? Historical fiction can often inform, imparting knowledge of the past, of its events and its people. Stories of mystery exercise the ‘little grey cells’ as Poirot would say, while fantasy and magic create new worlds and awed wonder.
Whatever result, this is where anthologies come into their own, and where short stories are often appreciated as enjoyable, entertaining, quick or easy reads shown through the eyes of a variety of extraordinary characters and situations. In this instance: an Anglo-Saxon woman facing the consequence of conquest, the pursuit of alchemy, the concern of a mother for her daughter, the shifting of time, the necessity of hidden identity, souls who will linger as ghosts, a warning from the supernatural, the necessity for (justifiable?) revenge. All mingled with the rekindling of romance through a mutual quest, and the preparations for a Cotswold village celebration. (Along with a good tip if illicitly snaffling cakes.)
The binding theme? Destiny… Kismet… FATE!
Triggers: some adult content
Book Trailer:
Buy Link:
Universal Buy Link: https://mybook.to/FateAnthology
This title is available to read on #KindleUnlimited.
LIST OF SHORT STORIES WITH RESPECTIVE AUTHOR BIO
BRAMBLE CREEP BY ANNIE WHITEHEAD
When the Normans arrive at a peaceful Anglo-Saxon village, do the women, children and old men submit… or fight?
ABOUT ANNIE:
Annie Whitehead is a prize-winning writer, historian, and Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, and has written four award-winning novels set in ‘Anglo-Saxon’ Mercia. She has contributed to fiction and nonfiction anthologies and written for various magazines. She has twice been a prize winner in the Mail on Sunday Novel Writing Competition, and won First Prize in the 2012 New Writer Magazine’s Prose and Poetry Competition. She has been a finalist in the Tom Howard Prize for nonfiction and was shortlisted for the Exeter Story Prize and Trisha Ashley Award 2021. She was the winner of the inaugural Historical Writers’ Association (HWA)/Dorothy Dunnett Prize 2017 and was subsequently a judge for that same competition. She has also been a judge for the HNS (Historical Novel Society) Short Story Competition, and was a 2024 judge for the HWA Crown Nonfiction Award.
Her nonfiction books are Mercia: The Rise and Fall of a Kingdom and Women of Power in Anglo-Saxon England. In 2023 she contributed to a new history of English monarchs, published by Hodder & Stoughton, and in February 2025 Murder in Anglo-Saxon England was published by Amberley Books.
Website: https://anniewhiteheadauthor.co.uk/
Amazon Author Page: http://viewauthor.at/Annie-Whitehead
SIX POMEGRANATE SEEDS BY JEAN GILL
A daughter’s dream can be a mother’s nightmare.
ABOUT JEAN:
Jean Gill is an award-winning Welsh writer and photographer living in the south of France with a scruffy dog, a beehive named ‘Endeavour’, a Nikon D750 and a man. First published in 1988, her twenty-six books are varied in genre, including novels, memoir, military history, dog books, poetry, and a cookery book on goat cheese. With Scottish parents, an English birthplace and French residence, she can usually support the winning team on most sporting occasions. She taught English for many years and was the first woman to be a comprehensive school headteacher in Dyfed, Wales. Life has been hectic as she is also mother or stepmother to five children.
Website: www.jeangill.com
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/author/jeangill
ONE BLACK DOG BY MARIAN L THORPE
A warning of Fate, or simply too much beer and a tale well told?
ABOUT MARIAN:
A dual Canadian/British citizen who divides her year between Ontario, Canada, and Norfolk, UK, Marian published the first of her eight-book Empire’s Legacy series, historically-inspired speculative fiction, in 2015. The series is set in a world ‘on the edge of history’: reminiscent of Britain, Northern Europe, and Rome in the latter centuries of the first millennium, but a world where society evolved differently after the Eastern Empire left; a world where one young fisherwoman answers her leader’s call to defend her country, beginning a journey into uncharted territory.
Website: www.marianlthorpe.com
Amazon Author Page: https://relinks.me/MarianLThorpe
IN THE SHADOW OF GHOSTS
BY HELEN HOLLICK
Does the fate of those who survive linger forever?
ABOUT HELEN:
Known for her captivating storytelling and rich attention to historical detail, Helen’s historical fiction, nautical adventure series, cosy mysteries – and her short stories – skilfully invite readers to step into worlds where the boundaries between fact and fiction blend together. Helen started writing as a teenager, but after discovering a passion for history, was initially published in 1993 in the UK with her Arthurian Pendragon’s Banner Trilogy and two Anglo-Saxon novels about the events that led to the 1066 Battle of Hastings, one of which, The Forever Queen (USA title – A Hollow Crown in the UK) became a USA Today best-seller. Her Sea Witch Voyages are nautical-based adventures inspired by the Golden Age of Piracy. She also writes the Jan Christopher cosy mystery series set during the 1970s, and based around her, sometimes hilarious, years of working as a North London library assistant. Her 2025 release is Ghost Encounters, a book about the ghosts of North Devon.
Helen and her family moved from London to Devon after a Lottery win on the opening night of the London Olympics, 2012. She spends her time glowering at the overgrown garden, fending off the geese, helping with the horses and wishing the friendly, resident ghosts would occasionally help with the housework…
Website: https://www.helenhollick.net/
Amazon Author Page: https://viewauthor.at/HelenHollick
A FATEFUL ENCOUNTER BY ALISON MORTON
When time turns in the wrong direction, fate will always step in…
ABOUT ALISON:
Alison Morton writes award-winning thrillers featuring tough but compassionate heroines. Her eleven-book Roma Nova thriller series is set in an imaginary European country where a remnant of the ancient Roman Empire has survived into the 21st century and is ruled by women who face conspiracy, revolution and heartache but with a sharp line in dialogue.
Six years’ military service, a fascination with ancient Rome and a life of reading crime, historical and thriller fiction have inspired her writing. On the way, she collected a BA in modern languages and an MA in history. She lives in Poitou in France, the home of Mélisende, the heroine of her latest three contemporary thrillers, Double Identity, Double Pursuit, and Double Stakes.
Website: https://www.alison-morton.com
Amazon Author Page: https://Author.to/AlisonMortonAmazon
FOLLOWING FATE BY ELIZABETH ST.JOHN
A Lost Portrait, a Hidden Conspiracy, and a Second Chance at Love
ABOUT ELIZABETH:
Elizabeth St.John’s acclaimed historical fiction brings to life her ancestors – remarkable women linked to England’s royalty – offering unique insights into Medieval, Tudor, and Stuart times. Inspired by family archives and historic sites like Lydiard Park and the Tower of London, her novels include The Lydiard Chronicles, The Godmother’s Secret, and The King’s Intelligencer, exploring the English Civil War and the mystery of the Princes in the Tower.
Website: www.elizabethjstjohn.com
Amazon Author Page: https://geni.us/AmazonElizabethStJohn
THE BLACK ONYX BOX BY R. MARSDEN
The Bluffer’s Guide to Becoming a Famous Alchemist
ABOUT R. MARSDEN:
Marsden is an author and musician, passionate about the Middle Ages. He plays the gittern, a beautiful medieval stringed instrument, ancestor of the guitar; and a thirteenth century recorder, a replica of one which was excavated from medieval ruins in modern-day Poland. He also plays the piano, and there’s nothing medieval about that!
Tales of Castle Rory are Medieval Fantasy Adventures, in which the demesne of Lord Rory of Hambrig is brought to life. Set in the latter part of the thirteenth century, these stories have adventure, mystery and magic at their heart. You’ll also find relationships, romance, friendship and the forging and breaking of ties between people and nations. Running through the Tales are themes of family, loyalty, trust and resilience, together with the other sides of those coins: abandonment, betrayal, loss and disempowerment.
Website: https://talesofcastlerory.co.uk/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61554417124566
Amazon Author Page: https://mybook.to/TalesOfCastleRory
BEWARE THE CROWS BY ANNA BELFRAGE
Beware the consequences of hatred. Revenge can take many forms…
ABOUT ANNA:
Had Anna been allowed to choose, she’d have become a time-traveller. As this was impossible, she became a financial professional with three absorbing interests: history, romance 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, and The Castilian Saga, which is set against the medieval conquest of Wales. She has also published a time travel romance, The Whirlpools of Time, and its sequel Times of Turmoil, and is now considering just how to wiggle out of setting the next book in that series in Peter the Great’s Russia, as her characters are demanding. . .
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 Favourite medals as well as having won various Gold, Silver and Bronze Coffee Pot Book Club awards.
Website: www.annabelfrage.com
Amazon Author Page: http://Author.to/ABG
DAME FORTUNE’S WHEEL BY J.P. REEDMAN
Fate can be in the hands of others – or held within your own…
ABOUT J.P. REEDMAN:
J.P. Reedman lives in Wiltshire near to Stonehenge. Born in Canada, she has had a lifelong interest in ancient and medieval history, and is often found lurking around prehistoric sites, ruined castles and abbeys, and interesting churches with camera in hand. She became a full-time writer in 2018. Series include I, Richard Plantagenet, five books chronicling Richard’s life from childhood to Bosworth, and Medieval Babes, a set of standalone novels about lesser-known medieval queens and noblewomen.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/IRichardPlantagenet/
Amazon Author Page: author.to/REEDMANHISTFIC
SAINTS ALIVE BY DEBBIE YOUNG
When children are not quite the saints we’d like them to be!
ABOUT DEBBIE YOUNG:
Debbie Young is the author of three series of cosy mystery novels set in the Cotswolds. The Sophie Sayers series starts with Best Murder in Show; the Gemma Lamb series begins with Dastardly Deeds at St Bride’s; and the Cotswold Curiosity Shop series kicks off with Death at the Old Curiosity Shop. She sometimes sends characters from one series to visit those in another. She also writes short fiction, not all of it crime-related, set in the same world, eg Christmas with Sophie Sayers. Her novels are published by Boldwood Books in English, by DP Verlag in German, and by Antonio Vallardi in Italian. She has recently written her first murder mystery play for performance by her village amateur dramatic group. She is a frequent speaker at events for writers and readers, a course tutor for Jericho Writers, and the founder and director of the Hawkesbury Upton Literature Festival. She lives in a Victorian cottage with her Scottish husband, her student daughter, and three cats, and she writes in a little hut at the bottom of her garden.
Website: www.authordebbieyoung.com
Links to buy Debbie’s books: https://authordebbieyoung.com/books-2/
Twitter: @cathiedunn
Instagram & Threads: @thecoffeepotbookclub
Bluesky: @cathiedunn.bsky.social
June 25, 2025
Book Spotlight The Dutch Muse Heidi Eljarbo #HistoricalMystery #DualTimeline #ArtMystery #BlogTour #TheCoffeePotBookClub @HeidiEljarbo @cathiedunn
I‘m delighted to host the book spotlight for The Dutch Muse (A Fabiola Bennett Mystery) by Heidi Eljarbo in the The Coffee Pot Book Club Blog Tour being held between June 23th – 27th, 2025. The Dutch Muse is a Historical Art Mystery / Dual Timeline / Historical Fiction / Dutch Historical Fiction / Dual-timeline Fiction that was independently published by the author on 17 June 2025 (270 pages).
Below are highlights of The Dutch Muse and the author bio of Heidi Eljarbo.
Tour Schedule Page: https://thecoffeepotbookclub.blogspot...
HIGHLIGHTS: THE DUTCH MUSE
The Dutch Muse: A Historical Art Mystery
(A Fabiola Bennett Mystery)
by Heidi Eljarbo
Blurb:
A ruthless thief leaves a private Dutch gallery with a coveted seventeenth-century painting. The owner lies unconscious on the floor. Art historian Fabiola Bennett is on vacation in Holland and takes on the case.
Amsterdam, 1973.
It’s late summer, and Fabiola and Pippa join their friend, Cary, for a few days of sightseeing, museums, and riding bikes around the beautiful city.
For the first time in her life, Fabiola feels a pang of jealousy, and rude comments from a gallerist make her doubt her own abilities.
Then, unexpectedly, Cary’s Dutch client, Lennard van de Hoek, is brutally struck down and a baroque portrait by Ferdinand Bol is stolen. Fabiola pushes aside her problems and jumps into danger without hesitation. The list of suspects is long, and with a cold-blooded criminal at large, they must constantly be on the alert.
Amsterdam, 1641.
Ferdinand Bol has completed his five-year training with Master Rembrandt van Rijn and is ready to set up his own studio. The future looks bright, and Ferdinand sets a goal to become a widely sought-after and, hopefully, prosperous master portraitist.
Just when Ferdinand’s career starts to flourish—and patrons and customers discover his exceptional talent—one of his models confesses she’s in deep trouble, and he drops everything to help her.
This is a fast-paced and captivating who-done-it set in the Netherlands—the fourth installment and a spin-off from the Soli Hansen Mysteries.
Buy Link:
Universal Buy Link: https://books2read.com/u/brLY5k
This title is available to read on #KindleUnlimited.
AUTHOR BIO: HEIDI ELJARBO
HEIDI ELJARBO grew up in a home full of books, artwork, and happy creativity. She is the author of historical novels filled with courage, hope, mystery, adventure, and sweet romance during 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 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 Twitter Facebook Instagram Pinterest
Book Bub Amazon Author Page Goodreads Newsletter
Twitter: @cathiedunn
Instagram & Threads: @thecoffeepotbookclub
Bluesky: @cathiedunn.bsky.social
June 24, 2025
Book Review Ravens Hill Garth Pettersen #VikingFiction #HistoricalMysteries #HistoricalFiction #BlogTour #TheCoffeePotBookClub @garpet011 @cathiedunn
I’m delighted to welcome Garth Pettersen as the featured author in The Coffee Pot Book Club Blog Tour, being held between June 4th – 25th, 2025. Garth Pettersen is the author of the Historical Mystery / Historical Fiction, Ravens Hill (The Atheling Chronicles, Book #5), published by Tirgearr Publishing on April 15, 2025 (308 pages).
Below are highlights of Ravens Hill, Garth Pettersen’s author bio, and my 5-star review of his historical mystery set in 11th century England during the reign of Danish King Cnute and Queen Emma of Normandy.
Tour Schedule Page: https://thecoffeepotbookclub.blogspot.com/2025/05/blog-tour-ravens-hill-by-garth-pettersen.html
HIGHLIGHTS: RAVENS HILL
Ravens Hill
(The Atheling Chronicles, Book #5)
by Garth Pettersen
Blurb:
When Harald, the second son of King Cnute, returns from fighting the king’s enemies in Northern Wales, he expects his life to return to normal⸺farming in the Midlands, overseeing his few tenants, evening walks with his beloved Selia⸺an idyllic life, far from the power-mongering of King Cnute’s court. But the king has other plans for Harald and his wife—he grants them a large landholding, a gift they cannot refuse.
On arriving at their new holding, Ravens Hill, Harald and Selia receive a tepid welcome⸺from belligerent housecarls, a conniving steward, an uncompromising abbess, bitter at not adding their estate to her abbey lands, a priest with roaming hands, and a grieving daughter of the previous landholder, who has entered the nunnery.
Harald and Selia wish to improve the lot of their tenant farmers but they face obstacles at every turn, and Harald’s generosity is seen as weakness. They also learn the lands come with an unexpected millstone—an unsolved murder.
And then the trouble begins.
[Fans of Bernard Cornwell will love Ravens Hill—part of the award-winning Atheling Chronicles series.]
Triggers: some graphic violence, discussion of molestation
Buy Links:
Universal Buy Link: https://books2read.com/u/317MEw
Publisher’s Author Page with series links: http://www.tirpub.com/gpettersen
AUTHOR BIO: GARTH PETTERSEN
Garth Pettersen is an award-winning Canadian writer living in the Fraser Valley near Vancouver, BC, Canada where he and his wife board horses.
Pettersen has a BA in History from the University of Victoria and is a retired teacher. His short stories have appeared in anthologies and in journals such as Blank Spaces, The Spadina Literary Review, and The Opening Line Literary ‘Zine.
Garth Pettersen’s historical fiction series, The Atheling Chronicles, is published by Tirgearr Publishing and is available through most online outlets. Book #4 in the series, The Sea’s Edge, received a first-place Incipere Award. Book #5, Ravens Hill, was released on April 15, 2025.
Author Links:
Website: http://www.garthpettersen.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/garpet011
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/writeandride/
Book Bub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/garth-pettersen
Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/author/garthpettersen
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15059599.Garth_Pettersen
BOOK REVIEW: RAVENS HILL
King Cnute grants his son, Aethling Harold Harefoot—considered a spare prince from the king’s previous marriage—the large landholding of Ravens Hill. Harold accepts the gift and visits Raven Hill with his childless wife, Siera, to ascertain how involved they should be to manage the estate. They do not anticipate to be greeted with the unsolved murder of the miller’s son, the grieving daughter of the last landowner, a lusty priest, a corrupt steward, and an embittered abbess who has been promised by Queen Emma (Harold’s step-mother) that Harold’s estate will be granted to the abbey. Ravens Hill by Garth Pettersen is a historical mystery set in 11th Century England where an uneasy peace exists with the political marriage of Queen Emma of Normandy and Danish King Cnute. Although Ravens Hill is the 5th book in The Atheling Chronicles, it can be read as a standalone novel.
When Harold and Siera first arrive at the estate, they face repercussions from the unsolved murder and growing tensions of tenants under the fist of the heartless steward and his gang of four enforcers. Determined to solve the murder and seek justice for everyone on the estate, Harold and Siera unravel dark secrets while forming a deep bond with area residents. Fire breaks out at the mill, a priest is murdered, and the terminated ruffians prey on the innocent tenants and thralls (slaves). Harold and his wife investigate how events tie back to the original murder, culminating in a heart-throbbing climax and uplifting ending.
Garth Pettersen masterfully captures the essence of medieval landholding and the resources needed to manage the property. The vivid descriptions of the estate weaves in seamlessly with the natural dialogue and action-packed scenes. The narrative is effectively told from the first person perspective of Harold while other scenes are conveyed from the third-person limited perspective of others. One of the unique features of the book is how the author adeptly drops in Old English and Norse words that add flavor to the story.
Though there are riveting action scenes, it is a character-driven mystery full of suspense, twists, and political intrigue to keep the reader turning the page to piece the clues together. Harold is a promising leader who is ‘fair-handed’ and ‘weapon-strong.’ Siera comes across as a compassionate, independent woman. They are engaging and likable characters typical of a modern-day couple with their light-hearted verbal sparring. Their humor helps alleviate some of the more disturbing elements of sexual abuse in the story. One of the strengths of the novel is the reader gains insight into other characters and understands their motivations. For example, the shire-reeve Wallis (sheriff) redeems himself by being a “dangerous but loyal man” bound by oath to the king.
Ravens Hill is an enthralling historical mystery steeped with suspense and unexpected twists in the backdrop of medieval England where descendants of Vikings vie for power and status in their rise to the throne. Highly recommended.
Twitter: @cathiedunn
Instagram & Threads: @thecoffeepotbookclub
Bluesky: @cathiedunn.bsky.social
June 19, 2025
S. P. Somtow Nero and Sports #HistoricalFiction #AncientRome #LGBTQFiction #BlogTour #TheCoffeePotBookClub @somtow @cathiedunn
It’s my pleasure to welcome S.P. Somtow as the featured author in The Coffee Pot Book Club Blog Tour being held between June 16th – 20th, 2025. S.P. Somtow is the author of the Historical Fiction / Historical Biographical Fiction / LGBTQ Interest, Nero and Sporus, published by Diplodocus Press on May 30, 2025 (750 pages).
Below are highlights of Nero and Sports, S.P. Somtow’s author bio, and a previous interview with Literary Titan that provides further background on S.P. Somtow and the book.
Tour Schedule Page: https://thecoffeepotbookclub.blogspot.com/2025/05/blog-tour-nero-and-sporus-by-sp-somtow.html
HIGHLIGHTS: NERO AND SPORUS
Nero and Sporus
by S.P. Somtow
Blurb:
Finally available in one volume! The decadence of Imperial Rome comes to life in S.P. Somtow’s Literary Titan Award-winning novel about one of ancient history’s wildest characters.
The historian Suetonius tells us that the Emperor Nero emasculated and married his slave Sporus, the spitting image of murdered Empress Poppaea. But history has more tidbits about Sporus, who went from “puer delicatus” to Empress to one Emperor and concubine to another, and ended up being sentenced to play the Earth-Goddess in the arena.
Triggers: Sexuality of various kinds, violence, slavery.
Buy Link :
Universal Buy Link: https://books2read.com/u/ba90Qx
This title is available to read on #KindleUnlimited.
AUTHOR BIO: S.P. SOMTOW
Once referred to by the International Herald Tribune as ‘the most well-known expatriate Thai in the world,’ Somtow Sucharitkul is no longer an expatriate, since he has returned to Thailand after five decades of wandering the world. He is best known as an award-winning novelist and a composer of operas.
Born in Bangkok, Somtow grew up in Europe and was educated at Eton and Cambridge. His first career was in music and in the 1970s, his first return to Asia, he acquired a reputation as a revolutionary composer, the first to combine Thai and Western instruments in radical new sonorities. Conditions in the arts in the region at the time proved so traumatic for the young composer that he suffered a major burnout, emigrated to the United States, and reinvented himself as a novelist.
His earliest novels were in the science fiction field and he soon won the John W. Campbell for Best New Writer as well as being nominated for and winning numerous other awards in the field. But science fiction was not able to contain him and he began to cross into other genres. In his 1984 novel Vampire Junction, he injected a new literary inventiveness into the horror genre, in the words of Robert Bloch, author of Psycho, ‘skillfully combining the styles of Stephen King, William Burroughs, and the author of the Revelation to John.’ Vampire Junction was voted one of the forty all-time greatest horror books by the Horror Writers’ Association, joining established classics like Frankenstein and Dracula. He has also published children’s books, a historical novel, and about a hundred works of short fiction.
In the 1990s Somtow became increasingly identified as a uniquely Asian writer with novels such as the semi-autobiographical Jasmine Nights and a series of stories noted for a peculiarly Asian brand of magic realism, such as Dragon’s Fin Soup, which is currently being made into a film directed by Takashi Miike. He recently won the World Fantasy Award, the highest accolade given in the world of fantastic literature, for his novella The Bird Catcher. His seventy-plus books have sold about two million copies world-wide. He has been nominated for or won over forty awards in the fields of science fiction, fantasy, and horror.
After becoming a Buddhist monk for a period in 2001, Somtow decided to refocus his attention on the country of his birth, founding Bangkok’s first international opera company and returning to music, where he again reinvented himself, this time as a neo-Asian neo-Romantic composer. The Norwegian government commissioned his song cycle Songs Before Dawn for the 100th Anniversary of the Nobel Peace Prize, and he composed at the request of the government of Thailand his Requiem: In Memoriam 9/11 which was dedicated to the victims of the 9/11 tragedy.
According to London’s Opera magazine, ‘in just five years, Somtow has made Bangkok into the operatic hub of Southeast Asia.’ His operas on Thai themes, Madana and Mae Naak, have been well received by international critics.
Somtow has recently been awarded the 2017 Europa Cultural Achievement Award for his work in bridging eastern and western cultures. In 2020 he returned to science fiction after a twenty-year absence with “Homeworld of the Heart”, a fifth novel in the Inquestor series.
Currently he has just finished Nero and Sporus, a massive historical novel set in Imperial Rome.
To support S.P. Somtow’s work, visit his patreon account at patreon.com/spsomtow. His website is at www.somtow.com.
Author Links:
Website Patreon Twitter / X Facebook Instagram
Book Bub Amazon Author Page Goodreads
PREVIOUS LITERARY TITAN INTERVIEW WITH S.P. SOMTOW
Delicatus
follows a young boy from ancient Rome who is enslaved by pirates and becomes a key player in Poppeae’s plot to become the Divine Empress. Where did the idea for this novel come from?
I first encountered Sporus at Eton, studying Alexander Pope with the remarkable teacher Michael Meredith, a guru to generations of literary and stage personalities. Pope’s satire on an 18th century local aristocrat notorious for sexual ambiguity led me to be fascinated by this figure, who was well known enough in 18th century England for a poet to allude to him in a satire, yet mostly just a footnote in history books about ancient Rome today if he appears at all.
I would encounter this character from time to time (there’s an illusion, for instance, in the TV series “Succession”) but there are only scraps in the historical record. But what scraps they were! Not just the relatively well-known bit about Sporus getting castrated by the emperor Nero and made his wife … but what happened to Sporus in the year 69 AD when four different emperors held the throne and all had a different relationship with Sporus … from a second wedding to an order to execute him in the arena … and all before Sporus turned twenty. But it took me another fifty years before thinking of it as a novel.
What kind of research did you do for this novel to ensure you captured the essence of the story’s theme?
I’ve always been interested in ancient history and I’ve written both serious and satirical novels in that setting, so I have been doing research for decades. It’s a way of taking revenge on my bullying Latin teacher, as well. I’ve read most of the primary sources (some in the original) but more important, I spent a lot of time daydreaming about what that world, with its radically alien attitudes, was really like … because, despite its weirdness, it is a world populated by real people who speak to us today. One of the things that is hardest to wrap one’s mind around is that absolutely no one thought that there was anything wrong with slavery, and that because slaves could not be distinguished by race, there was a kind of continuum where you rise to a position of great power and still technically be a slave. Big things like that influence the world-view, but also little things, like human urine being collected to use in laundries. This is a very well studied period so there is a lot of consensus about what this world was like. But there are still gaps in the consensus and this is where imagination comes in.
What is one pivotal moment in the story that you think best defines Sporus?
When Sporus receives his freedom from Petronius, and realizes that in many ways nothing has changed. In a sense this is a central theme of the story. Even the Emperor, we’ll see in the second book, suffers from a kind of enslavement.
To be honest, I didn’t originally conceive of this as a trilogy but as a big fat book. But I’m getting on in years and I want to make sure the whole story comes out. In terms of the trilogy, the real pivotal moment probably happens in the middle of Book Two …
Can you tell us what the second book will be about and when it will be available for fans to purchase?
The second book will be on sale Dec 1 and is already available for pre-order (note: it has since been released). The second book deals with Sporus actually becoming Empress and takes us to the humiliating end of his reign … and the third book deals with Sporus’s life in the Year of Four Emperors … perhaps the most eventful time of all.
Imperatrix: The Empress Who Was Once a Slave follows a young slave thrust into the decadence and danger of Nero’s court as he strives to survive and find his place in a world ruled by an insane emperor. What inspired you to choose Nero’s Rome as the backdrop for Imperatrix?
Growing up in England in the 1960s, I was one of the last generation to receive a “classical education” in which subjects like Latin were compulsory. So, the history of imperial Rome was almost as familiar to me as real life — and, compared to real life in a British boarding school, almost as weird, too. I was surrounded by fictional depictions of Nero’s Rome, in literature and film, yet they generally are as much about the mores and culture of the time they were written in as about Rome. I wanted to try to achieve the real alienness of this pagan culture while at the same time showing that these people are clearly recognizable to us in the modern world.
One important difference is the entire societal treatment of sexuality and sexual morality which was in many ways more permissive than today, but also more restrictive in other ways. Relationships today are seen as two-way; in Roman times “maleness” was about doing, and “femaleness” was about being done to. Everything has to be interpreted in that light. “Of course” one could do anything to a slave, no matter what their gender or age — they were owned. Yet a modern, two-way gay relationship where the partners were equal might have been seen as eccentric, somehow un-Roman.
When this one pillar of modern moral discourse — the idea of relationships being equal, going both ways — is altered, every little thing in society is seen through a different lens. That was the challenge — not to allow a modern sensibility to be interjected into characters’ attitudes — while at the same time showing characters that modern people share common humanity with.
Sporus is a complex and captivating character. Can you share the process of developing his personality and how you balanced his vulnerability and resilience throughout the story?
So many bad things happened to Sporus that he could not have survived without a great deal of native wit and real intelligence. To survive in Nero’s court was tough even for people who had been raised and bred for it. To develop his character, I imagined him talking to me, letting me share his innermost, often contradictory thoughts. It’s the core of innocence that people around Sporus love — the thing they themselves do not possess. But that innocence is constantly besieged by the realities of his world. I think that making this a first-person narrative makes you constantly strive to understand the realities of that world. It’s an imaginative exercise in chanelling if you will.
How did you approach crafting Nero’s character, and what were the challenges in depicting his divine madness and capricious nature?
Of course, we know a lot more about Nero than we do about Sporus. This means not only that it’s easier to create a character people would recognize as Nero, but also harder to bring out qualities that might be concealed behind the very well-known persona. Nero was not raised to be an Emperor, so on some level, he must have been able to understand how ordinary people felt. The evil madman image is to some extent anti-Julio-Claudian propaganda — followed by Christian propaganda. He was, almost to the end, rather popular, but the mob was fickle.
Can you give us any insights into what we can expect in the next installment of this enthralling trilogy?
In a way, the big events are all in the third part, a large part of which is set during a single year in which four emperors came to the throne, and Sporus’s fortunes ping pong rapidly. Nymphidius “took” Sporus for a while but his bid to become emperor did not work out. Otho, like Nero, married Sporus (and of course both were Poppaea’s ex-husbands.). The first part of Book III, the Grecian tour, is also an immense spectacle. So I hope the third volume will be suitably climactic.
I didn’t mean to do this in three volumes. It’s just that at my age, I worry about not finishing big fat books, so breaking them up is a way that least parts of them reach the audience. At about 180,000 – 200,000 words the three volumes together are a pretty fat work, but they are continuous, so it may also be necessary to do an omnibus edition.
Damnatio Memoriae is the final, emotionally raw, and beautifully written chapter of the Nero and Sporus saga. How do you feel now that you have completed Sporus’s story, and were you able to achieve everything you wanted with the characters in the novel?
This is really one long novel, but now that I’ve reached an advanced age, I always worry about being able to finish things so I decide to do it as a trilogy so that even if I were to pass away, that would still be some parts of the book out as separate books. Because of this, I’ve lived with the characters for a very long time. One thing though is that we do know how the story ends, and we’ve always known it because it’s one of the few things that the historical record actually tells us. One problem with releasing the story in smaller chunks has been people getting the last chunk and complaining bitterly about the protagonist’s fate. Unfortunately, it’s one of the few things I couldn’t change without violating the whole idea of a historical novel.
What goals did you set for yourself as a writer in this book?
My largest aim was to truly inhabit the world of the first century and completely eschew any kind of moral or philosophical biases I might have as an inhabitant of our modern era. This is very difficult because so many things that were taken for granted are now shocking, and something that taken for granted today would’ve shocked the Romans. For example, the idea of people actually being equal would have been astonishing. Sex and violence, so much a cause of societal uproar today, were not only not that profound, they were even mostly entertainment.
One reader complained bitterly that I didn’t use archaic language. But the Romans didn’t know they were ancient! I had to strike a balance between colloquialism and exoticism. Everyone doing what I do has to find their own happy medium. I hope that that which is exotic or horrific about the Roman world comes across most successfully when it is treated as completely commonplace.
What experience in your life has had the most significant impact on your writing?
Bringing up a child who was completely comfortable as either gender and had no qualms about switching whenever he felt like it. This book is actually dedicated to him. I use the word him because the language I usually speak to him in is Thai, a language in which most pronouns are gender-neutral. People who grow up in this culture simply don’t suffer any agony about pronouns.
What is the next book that you are working on, and when can your fans expect it to be out?
I’m returning to science fiction and fantasy at the moment with a new post-holocaust trilogy set among wolves. I’m also doing a sixth novel in a series that I’ve been working on for over 40 years. It was very popular in the 80s and I’m reviving it. It’s one of those vast Galactic Empire kind of things.
© Literary Titan and S.P. Somtow. All rights reserved.
Twitter: @cathiedunn
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June 17, 2025
Book Spotlight Bess—Tudor Gentlewoman Tony Riches #HistoricalFiction #Elizabethan #Tudors #BlogTour #TheCoffeePotBookClub @tonyriches @cathiedunn
I‘m delighted to host the book spotlight for Bess—Tudor Gentlewoman (The Elizabethan Series, Book #6) by Tony Riches in The Coffee Pot Book Club Blog Tour being held between June 16th – 20th, 2025. Bess—Tudor Gentlewoman is a Historical Fiction / Tudor Fiction published by Preseli Press on May 2nd, 2025 (337 pages)
Tour Schedule Page: https://thecoffeepotbookclub.blogspot.com/2025/05/blog-tour-bess-tudor-gentlewoman-by-tony-riches.html
HIGHLIGHTS: BESS—TUDOR GENTLEWOMAN
Bess – Tudor Gentlewoman
(The Elizabethan Series,
Book #6
)
By Tony Riches
Blurb:
Bess Throckmorton defies her notorious background and lack of education to become Queen Elizabeth’s Gentlewoman and trusted confidante.
Forced to choose between loyalty and love, duty and desire, will she risk her queen’s anger by marrying adventurer Sir Walter Raleigh without permission?
Entangled in a web of intrigue, from the glittering Palace of Whitehall to the cells of the Tower of London, Bess endures tragedy and injustice, becoming a resilient, determined woman, who takes nothing for granted.
Can she outwit her enemies, protect her family, and claim her destiny in a world where women are pawns and survival is a game of deadly consequences?
This is the true story of the last of the Elizabethans, which ends the story of the Tudor dynasty – and introduces their successors, the Stuarts.
Buy Link:
Universal Buy Link: https://mybook.to/BESS
This title is available to read on #KindleUnlimited.
AUTHOR BIO: TONY RICHES
Tony Riches is a full-time UK author of Tudor historical fiction. He lives with his wife in Pembrokeshire, West Wales and is a specialist in the lives of the early Tudors.
As well as his Elizabethan series, Tony’s historical fiction novels include the best-selling Tudor trilogy and his Brandon trilogy, (about Charles Brandon and his wives).
For more information about Tony’s books please visit his website, and his blog, The Writing Desk, and find him on social media.
Author Links:
Website Blog Twitter / X Facebook Instagram
Bluesky Amazon Author Page Goodreads
Twitter: @cathiedunn
Instagram & Threads: @thecoffeepotbookclub
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June 15, 2025
Book Review Last Train to Freedom Deborah Swift#WW2 #TransSiberian #Russia #Japan #WomensFiction #Spies #BlogTour #TheCoffeePotBookClub @deborahswiftauthor @thecoffeepotbookclub
I’m delighted to welcome Deborah Swift again as the featured author in The Coffee Pot Book Club Blog Tour, being held between May 26th – June 16th, 2025. Deborah Swift is the author of the Historical Fiction, Last Train to Freedom, published by HQDigital on 8th May 2025 (361 pages).
Below are highlights of Train to Freedom, Deborah Swift’s author bio, and my 5-star review of her compelling WWII historical suspense and thriller set in Russian-occupied Lithuania as Germany prepares to invade Russia.
Tour Schedule Page: https://thecoffeepotbookclub.blogspot.com/2025/04/blog-tour-last-train-to-freedom-by-deborah-swift.html
HIGHLIGHTS: LAST TRAIN TO FREEDOM
Last Train to Freedom
by Deborah Swift
Blurb:
‘Taut, compelling and beautifully written – I loved it!’ ~ DAISY WOOD
‘Tense and thought-provoking’ ~ CATHERINE LAW
1940. As Soviet forces storm Lithuania, Zofia and her brother Jacek must flee to survive.
A lifeline appears when Japanese consul Sugihara offers them visas on one condition: they must deliver a parcel to Tokyo. Inside lies intelligence on Nazi atrocities, evidence so explosive that Nazi and Soviet agents will stop at nothing to possess it.
Pursued across Siberia on the Trans-Siberian Express, Zofia faces danger at every turn, racing to expose the truth as Japan edges closer to allying with the Nazis. With the fate of countless lives hanging in the balance, can she complete her mission before time runs out?
‘Such an interesting and original book…. Informative, full of suspense and thrills.’ ~ Netgalley Review
Triggers: WW2, so mild violence
Buy Link:
Universal Buy Link: http://mybook.to/TransSiberian
AUTHOR BIO: DEBORAH SWIFT
Deborah Swift is the English author of twenty historical novels, including Millennium Award winner Past Encounters, and The Poison Keeper, the novel based around the life of the legendary poisoner Giulia Tofana. The Poison Keeper won the Wishing Shelf Readers Award for Book of the Decade. Recently she has completed a secret agent series set in WW2, the first in the series being The Silk Code.
Deborah used to work as a set and costume designer for theatre and TV and enjoys the research aspect of creating historical fiction, something she loved doing as a scenographer. She likes to write about extraordinary characters set against a background of real historical events. Deborah lives in England on the edge of the Lake District, an area made famous by the Romantic Poets such as Wordsworth and Coleridge.
Author Links:
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BOOK REVIEW: LAST TRAIN TO FREEDOM
Last Train to Freedom by Deborah Swift is a riveting WWII historical suspense and thriller in Lithuania that Hitler concedes to Stalin in a secret pact to divide the region between their countries. A dark cloud looms over Jewish refugees Zofia and her brother Jack, who had barely escaped from Poland to Lithuania when Germans invaded. Yet, their situation becomes dire again as Russian troops storm Lithuania and German forces gather at the Russian border ready to invade. Faced with danger from both Russians and Germans, Zofia and Jack must find a way to escape Lithuania. They jump at a chance to acquire transit visas from a Japanese diplomat, Sugihara Chiune, so they can travel on the Trans-Siberian Express to Japan, then by boat to the USA.
But there is one condition. They must deliver documents and photos of German atrocities to Japanese leaders before they ally with Hitler. Jack and Zofia travel across Siberia, but their train ride is fraught with danger as various factions pursue them to destroy the evidence of German war crimes.
Though most of the characters are fictional, the story is inspired by the historical accounts of Sugihara Chiune, a Japanese diplomat who saved thousands of Jewish refugees by issuing them transit visas to Japan. Author Deborah Swift has crafted a taut, historical thriller filled with heart-wrenching twists leaving you on the edge of your seat. The suspense builds as passengers on the train are revealed as friend, spy, or deadly agent. The unique storyline rolls out at at a face pace with riveting action scenes.
The narrative is told from the viewpoints of various characters to understand their motivations and decisions. Most of the characters are well-developed and engaging. Blinded by love, Jack is impetuous and arrogant. Zofia is a formidable young woman whose decisions are made from the heart. Two men ultimately compete for her affection in a love triangle. One is Otto, a German clerk who works for Sugihara in the embassy, while the other is a Japanese passenger willing to help Zofia navigate Japan to fulfill the mission. The subplot with Otto is the most poignant and heart-breaking as he struggles to find the courage to protect Zofia despite the risks to himself and his mother. Zofia’s other romantic interest is not as engaging, but he plays a pivotal role in the ending.
Last Train to Freedom is a compelling WWII historical suspense and thriller about ordinary people finding courage to unveil the truth despite the dangers to them.
Twitter: @cathiedunn
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June 12, 2025
Amanda Roberts Lady of the Quay #LadyoftheQuay #Tudors #HistoricalFiction #HistoricalMystery #BlogTour #TheCoffeePotBookClub @cathiedunn
It’s my pleasure to welcome Amanda Roberts as the featured author in The Coffee Pot Book Club Blog Tour being held between June 11th – 13th, 2025. Amanda Roberts is the author of the Historical Mystery / Suspense, Lady of the Quay (Isabella Gillhespy Series, Book #1), published by the Hickory Press on May 9th, 2025 (256 pages).
Below are highlights of Lady of the Quay, Amanda Roberts’ author bio, and a snippet from her novel.
Tour Schedule Page: https://thecoffeepotbookclub.blogspot.com/2025/05/blog-tour-lady-of-the-quay-by-amanda-roberts.html
HIGHLIGHTS: LADY OF THE QUAY
Lady of the Quay
(Isabella Gillhespy Series. Book 1)
By Amanda Roberts
Blurb:
Knowing she is innocent is easy … proving it is hard
1560, Berwick-upon-Tweed, northern England
Following the unexpected death of her father, a series of startling discoveries about the business she inherits forces Isabella Gillhespy to re-evaluate everything she understands about her past and expects from her future.
Facing financial ruin, let down by people on whom she thought she could rely, and suspected of crimes that threaten her freedom, Isabella struggles to prove her innocence.
But the stakes are even higher than she realises. In a town where tension between England and her Scottish neighbours is never far from the surface, it isn’t long before developments attract the interest of the highest authority in the land, Sir William Cecil, and soon Isabella is fighting, not just for her freedom, but her life. She must use her wits and trust her own instincts to survive.
Lady of the Quay introduces an enticing new heroine who refuses to be beaten, even as it becomes clear that her life will never be the same again.
From the author of the award-winning ‘The Woman in the Painting’.
Buy Link:
Universal Buy Link: https://books2read.com/u/317rQa
This title is available to read on #KindleUnlimited.
AUTHOR BIO: AMANDA ROBERTS
Amanda Roberts has worked as an Editor in business-to-business magazines for over 30 years, specialising in out-of-home coffee, vending and foodservice/catering, including Editor of the global gastronomy title: ‘Revue internationale de la Chaîne des Rôtisseurs’.
She currently freelances, editing UK-based healthcare titles – HEFMA Pulse, Hospital Food + Service and Hospital Caterer. She is a member of the Society of Authors, the Historical Novel Society and West Oxfordshire Writers. She also volunteers for Tea Books (part of Age UK) to run a book club/reading group for elderly people in the community.
Author Links:
Website: https://amandarobertsauthor.co.uk/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100095191090333
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amanda_roberts_author/
Book Bub: https://www.bookbub.com/books/lady-of-the-quay-isabella-gillhespy-series-book-1-by-amanda-roberts
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Amanda-Roberts/author/B0FC2L3CWF
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/231816264-lady-of-the-quay
SNIPPET: LADY OF THE QUAY
‘Drink?’ I asked, gesturing towards the cabinet. He removed his hat, threw it onto a chair, and shook his head.
‘I’m here on business.’
That had never stopped him before. My heart had already sunk into my stomach, and his curt reply sent it plummeting to my feet. I had envisaged a cosy chat, me resting on my settle, him in his favourite chair, either side of the fire. A scene we had populated so many times in the past. But I already knew that was not going to happen. I did not sit down, but faced him, both of us standing somewhat awkwardly in the middle of the room.
‘Well?’ I challenged him to speak first. If we got the business out of the way we might be able to move on to resolve the more personal difficulties that stood between us, a wall as impenetrable as those surrounding Berwick. But like our town defences, every wall has its gates. I just needed to find Will’s gate.
Twitter: @cathiedunn
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June 8, 2025
Book Review Nothing Proved Janet Wertman #HistoricalFiction #TudorFiction #ElizabethTudor #BlogTour #TheCoffeePotBookClub @cathiedunn
I’m delighted to welcome Janet Wertman as the featured author in The Coffee Pot Book Club Blog Tour, being held between May 20th – June 10th, 2025. Janet Wertman is the author of the Historical Fiction, Nothing Proved (Regina series, Book 1), that was independently published on May 19, 2025 (376 pages).
Below are highlights of Nothing Proved, Janet Wertman’s author bio, and my 5-star review of her insightful novel about the formative years of Queen Elizabeth I.
Tour Schedule Page: https://thecoffeepotbookclub.blogspot.com/2025/04/blog-tour-nothing-proved-by-janet-wertman.html
HIGHLIGHTS: NOTHING PROVED
Nothing Proved
(Regina
series, Book 1)
by Janet Wertman
Blurb:
Danger lined her path, but destiny led her to glory…
Elizabeth Tudor learned resilience young. Declared illegitimate after the execution of her mother Anne Boleyn, she bore her precarious position with unshakable grace. But upon the death of her father, King Henry VIII, the vulnerable fourteen-year-old must learn to navigate a world of shifting loyalties, power plays, and betrayal.
After narrowly escaping entanglement in Thomas Seymour’s treason, Elizabeth rebuilds her reputation as the perfect Protestant princess – which puts her in mortal danger when her half-sister Mary becomes Queen and imposes Catholicism on a reluctant land. Elizabeth escapes execution, clawing her way from a Tower cell to exoneration. But even a semblance of favor comes with attempts to exclude her from the throne or steal her rights to it through a forced marriage.
Elizabeth must outwit her enemies time and again to prove herself worthy of power. The making of one of history’s most iconic monarchs is a gripping tale of survival, fortune, and triumph.
Buy Links:
Universal Buy Link: https://books2read.com/u/bM8Vrk
Additional Buy Links:
Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/nothing-proved-janet-wertman/1146831389
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/nothing-proved
Apple: https://books.apple.com/us/book/nothing-proved/id6740549129
AUTHOR BIO: JANET WERTMAN
By day, Janet Wertman is a freelance grantwriter for impactful nonprofits. By night, she writes critically acclaimed, character-driven historical fiction – indulging a passion for the Tudor era she had harbored since she was eight years old and her parents let her stay up late to watch The Six Wives of Henry VIII and Elizabeth R.
Her Seymour Saga trilogy (Jane the Quene, The Path to Somerset, The Boy King) took her deep into one of the era’s central families – and now her follow-up Regina series explores Elizabeth’s journey from bastard to icon.
Janet also runs a blog (www.janetwertman.com) where she posts interesting takes on the Tudors and what it’s like to write about them.
Author Links:
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BOOK REVIEW: NOTHING PROVED
Stained by her disgraced mother, Anne Boleyn, danger looms over Princess Elizabeth during her formative years. The only way she can survive and remain in the line of succession that was decreed in the Third Succession Act prior to the death of her father, King Henry VIII, is to outwit her political adversaries and wear a mask that hides her true feelings. Nothing Proved by Janet Wertman is an insightful and engaging book delving into the mind of Elizabeth I as she hides her true motives behind a facade of deference. The book begins when eleven-year-old Elizabeth, under the tutelage of William Cecil, declares, “Our highest calling is reason, not destruction…I do not want to marry.” Elizabeth’s words will hold true as she outmaneuvers adversaries vying for power.
The story unfolds chronologically when Elizabeth’s line of succession is threatened on the deathbed of her younger half-brother, King Edward VI, when he bequeathes his crown to his Protestant cousin, Lady Jane Grey, ignoring the claims of his two half-sisters. Joining forces with her half-sister Mary, Elizabeth avoids the fate of Lady Jane Grey, a naive political pawn executed for treason. Nonetheless, Queen Mary’s suspicions of Elizabeth’s loyalty wavers as other plots to usurp her are uncovered.Thomas Wyatt’s rebellion of 1554 implicates Elizabeth directly, and she is arrested and sent to the Tower of London. No evidence is found against Elizabeth, but she remains under house arrest as she tries to draw favor from Mary. Despite the odds, Elizabeth’s accession to the throne upon Mary’s death is without incident.
Although there have been many books written and films made about Queen Elizabeth, author Janet Wertman has masterfully crafted a story about a young woman learning to mask her true feelings so she can survive the turbulent politics of Tudor England. Though Elizabeth is often struck internally with terror that could make her physically sick, her demeanor with adversaries remains steadfast and reason.
The author skillfully dives into Elizabeth’s internal thoughts as she skillfully plays her role as a loyal subject willing to bend to her sister’s demands of practicing the rituals of a Catholic. Even so, Elizabeth holds strong in her commitment not to marry, thus avoiding the pitfalls of other married queens before her. The point of view of William Cecil is dispersed throughout the story so the reader can fully understand the machinations of powerful figures trying to control the fate of Elizabeth. This is an engaging, character-driven novel filled with political intrigue of a young woman learning the Machiavellian strategies for gaining power.
I highly recommend Nothing Proved for its engaging insight into a young woman, wise beyond her years, who ultimately wins the game of thrones in the Tudor dynasty through resilience, self-control, and cunning.
Twitter: @cathiedunn
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June 5, 2025
5th Anniversary Book Blast Luminous Samantha Wilcoxson HistoricalBiographicalFiction #HistoricalFiction #RadiumGirls #TrueStory #BookBirthday #BlogTour #TheCoffeePotBookClub @carpe_librum @cathiedunn
I‘m delighted to host the 5th publication anniversary book blast for Luminous: The Story of a Radium Girl by Samantha Wilcoxson in The Coffee Pot Book Club Blog Tour being held today on June 6th, 2025. Luminous is a Biographical Historical Fiction independently published by the author on June 5th, 2025 (319 pages)
Below are highlights of Luminous and Samantha Wilcoxson’s s author bio.
Tour Schedule Page: https://thecoffeepotbookclub.blogspot.com/2025/05/blog-tour-luminous-by-samantha-wilcoxson.html
BOOK SPOTLIGHT: LUMINOUS
Luminous: The Story of a Radium Girl
by Samantha Wilcoxson
Audio narration by Joanne Joyce
Blurb:
Tragic true story of a radium girl.
Catherine’s life is set on an unexpected course when she accepts a job at Radium Dial. The dial painters forge friendships and enjoy their work but soon discover that an evil secret lurks in the magical glow-in-the-dark paint. When she and her friends start falling ill, Catherine Donohoe takes on the might of a big corporation and becomes an early pioneer of social justice in the era between world wars.
Emotive and inspiring – this book will touch you like no other as you witness the devastating impact of radium poisoning on young women’s lives.
It’s too late for me, but maybe it will help some of the others. ~ Catherine Wolfe Donohue
Buy Link:
Universal Buy Link: https://mybook.to/luminous
This title is available to read on #KindleUnlimited.
AUTHOR BIO: SAMANTHA WILCOXSON
Writer, history enthusiast, and sufferer of wanderlust, Samantha enjoys exploring the lives of historical figures through research and travel. She strives to reveal the deep emotions and motivations of historical figures, enabling readers to connect with them in a unique way. Samantha is an American writer with British roots and proud mother of three amazing young adults. She can frequently be found lakeside with a book in one hand and glass of wine in the other.
Samantha’s most recent release is a biography of James Alexander Hamilton published by Pen & Sword History. She is currently writing a trilogy set during the Wars of the Roses for Sapere Books.
Author Links:
Website Twitter / X Facebook Instagram
Pinterest Book Bub Amazon Author Page Goodreads
Twitter: @cathiedunn
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June 4, 2025
Fiona Forsyth Death and The Poet #HistoricalMystery #RomanHistoricalFiction #AncientRome #Ovid #BlogTour #TheCoffeePotBookClub @for_fi @cathiedunn
I‘m delighted to welcome Fiona Forsyth as the featured author in The Coffee Pot Book Club Blog Tour being held between May 22nd – June 12th, 2025. Fiona Forsyth is the author of the Historical Mystery, Death and The Poet (The Publius Ovidius Mysteries), published by Sharpe Books on 20th March 2025 (361 pages).
Below are highlights of Death and The Poet, Fiona Forsyth’s author bio, and an excerpt from her book.
Tour Schedule Page: https://thecoffeepotbookclub.blogspot.com/2025/04/blog-tour-death-and-the-poet-by-fiona-forsyth.html
HIGHLIGHTS: DEATH AND THE POET
Death and The Poet
(The Publius Ovidius Mysteries)
by Fiona Forsyth
Blurb:
14 AD.
When Dokimos the vegetable seller is found bludgeoned to death in the Black Sea town of Tomis, it’s the most exciting thing to have happened in the region for years. Now reluctantly settled into life in exile, the disgraced Roman poet Ovid helps his friend Avitius to investigate the crime, with the evidence pointing straight at a cuckolded neighbour.
But Ovid is also on edge, waiting for the most momentous death of all. Augustus, the first Emperor of Rome, is nearing his end, and the future of the whole Roman world is uncertain.
Even as far away as Tomis, this political shadow creates tension as the pompous Roman legate Flaccus thinks more of his career than solving a local murder.
Avitius and Ovid become convinced that an injustice has been done in the case of the murdered vegetable seller. But Flaccus continues to turn a deaf ear.
When Ovid’s wife, Fabia, arrives unexpectedly, carrying a cryptic message from the Empress Livia, the poet becomes distracted – and another crime is committed.
Ovid hopes for a return to Rome – only to discover that he is under threat from an enemy much closer to home.
Triggers: murder, references to slavery, domestic abuse, alcohol, cancer
Buy Link:
Universal Buy Link: https://books2read.com/u/brx0WY
This title is available to read on #KindleUnlimited.
AUTHOR BIO: FIONA FORSTH
Fiona studied Classics at Oxford before teaching it for 25 years. A family move to Qatar gave her the opportunity to write about ancient Rome, and she is now back in the UK, working on her seventh novel.
Author Links:
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Book Bub Amazon Author Page Goodreads
EXCERPT: DEATH AND THE POET
July 20, or 13 days before the Kalends of August
“You need to come down to the marketplace,” said Bella. She stood in the doorway to his bedroom, a place she never entered except when he was not there. He started to form sleepy objections and she said firmly, “You do. There’s been an accident at the Temple of Rome, and someone’s hurt, but I don’t know who. I need to sort out Astyanax, so give me a call when you’re ready.”
Ovid dressed and hurried into the hall. Bella and Astyanax were already there, Bella trying to get Astyanax headed to The Lyre for his lessons while he insisted that he wanted to see the accident in the marketplace. Fabia came into the hall asking what the fuss was about and got a tangled explanation that ended with Astyanax making an ill-judged attempt to get her on his side.
“Do as you’re told,” Fabia said as soon as she understood and without any further complaint, Astyanax ducked his head and ran off. Bella looked relieved.
“What do you know about what has happened?” Ovid asked Bella as he got tangled in the cloak.
“I went down just now to get the bread,” said Bella. “The Temple is a mess – scaffolding all over the front steps, bits of stone everywhere, looks like one of those slabs has come down. There’s a load of workmen crawling all over and everyone says there’s a body, or someone injured.”
“I don’t see that you must go,” began Fabia to Ovid, but he kissed her and followed Bella out of the front door.
He didn’t usually run anywhere but he had to walk quickly to keep up with Bella and they weren’t the only ones hurrying into the marketplace to join the crowd in front of the temple. The scene was as Bella had described to him, but what he immediately noticed was the figure at the top of the steps – Leocrates, standing and watching as his men lifted up scaffolding poles and broken planks. They made a great fuss over what seemed a small task to Ovid and blocked his view of the group in the temple’s open doorway. Ovid nudged Bella and hissed, “Can you see who it is?”
She wriggled forward, stood on tiptoe and took a long look before saying decisively, “The army doctor is there, and the priest. There’s someone lying on the floor.”
Ovid turned to the crowd in front of him and yelled, “Who is injured?”
Heads turned. People looked at each other and tapped those in front: the question went forwards and the rumble of answers spread back.
“He’s dead”
“He’s nearly dead, you mean.”
“It looks like Sulla the merchant.”
“The doctor’s been working on him for ages.”
“Yes, it’s Sulla.”
Ovid cursed. An accident with the scaffolding he might accept, an accident that injured Sulla was different. He pushed through the crowd.
“I can help!” he yelled as he made his way, hoping this doubtful assertion would work. It did and people made a way for him.
“Rascanius!” he called as he climbed the steps. Leocrates shot him an angry look but Ovid pretended not to see the stonemason as he dropped to his knees on the gritty floor and saw Sulla’s injuries.
“Oh dear gods,” he said.
Rascanius, the army doctor, was busy tying a long piece of wood to Sulla’s bloody left leg. The doctor’s assistant was dabbing at a head wound above one ear, and both men’s hands and arms were streaked with blood. An army stretcher stood propped against the wall.
“Oh, it’s you,” said Rascanius. “Good, I can cover him with your cloak. Help us get him onto the stretcher then to Headquarters.”
Ovid was preparing to stand when Sulla made a grunting noise. They all went still and Ovid saw Sulla’s eyes creep open with a series of jittery flutters. He said soothingly, “You are safe, the doctor is patching you up then we can get you to the infirmary in Headquarters.”
“No.”
It was a whisper but unmistakable.
“No?” Ovid looked at Rascanius. “Has he said anything to you?”
“He’s been unconscious,” said Rascanius. “He probably doesn’t know what he’s saying.”
“Not Headquarters,” said Sulla clearly in Latin, then his eyes closed.
Ovid paused and thought.
“Take him to my place,” he said slowly.
“Don’t be ridiculous,” said Rascanius. “It will be much more convenient for me to look after him in Headquarters.”
“Humour me, and I’ll pay you to make visits,” said Ovid. “I know you do make visits, you did for me after all.”
Rascanius shrugged. “Very well, but let’s get him there quickly,” he said. “He has a nasty dent in his head and this leg is badly broken. He needs to be in bed as soon as we can get him there – slowly and carefully, please, although,” and he paused to take a professional long look at his new patient, “we needn’t worry about hurting him further because there isn’t much more that can be done to him. Come on then.”
Ovid realised that he was supposed to help here. He and the assistant carefully lifted Sulla as Rascanius slid the stretcher under him, then with the aid of a couple of volunteers from the crowd, the stretcher was raised and carried down the temple steps. In the sunlight, Ovid saw that Sulla’s limbs were covered in scrapes and bruises, and a fine layer of dust lay over him, smeared with blood by attempts to help. The bandage around his head was already stained, and he left behind a pool of blood where he had been lying.
Bella had started off ahead of them to tell Fabia and make preparations, and the stretcher-party made their way to Ovid’s house slowly, hoping that they would not jolt Sulla into consciousness before they got there. Ovid quietly questioned Rascanius, sticking to Latin.
“What was he doing in the temple?”
“I don’t know – I received the message that there was some sort of accident and when I arrived there he was,” said Rascanius. “I was told it looked as though he’d fallen off the scaffolding when it collapsed and then one of those sheets of marble fell on his leg. The workmen had got him out from under the mess and laid him there in the temple doorway.”
“Who sent for you?” asked Ovid. “There are a couple of civilian doctors in Tomis after all.”
“The priest, Whatsisname. He said that an army doctor would be more familiar with broken bones,” said Rascanius. “Good thinking. And I don’t mind helping out as long as it doesn’t interfere with my duties. Especially as I’ll get paid for it, by you.”
He looked at Ovid. “Are you going to tell me why he isn’t to go to Headquarters then?”
“He’s my friend,” said Ovid. “It makes sense.”
Rascanius gave a “Huh!” and said, “Strange lives we lead here on the edge of Roman rule, eh? When you were in Rome would you ever have counted a merchant like Sulla your friend?”
“If he supplied my wine, maybe,” said Ovid, and knew he was lying.
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