Jean M. Roberts's Blog, page 4

Cruachan ~ Rathcroghan A Prehistoric Irish Gem

 

By Barzac Tatak - Own work, CC0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index...

Cruachan~ Rathcroghan ~ Ráth Cruachan 

Rathcroghan is an Irisharcheological gem, tucked into the emerald countryside of County Roscommon and spread out over 2.3 square miles, it is one of Europe’s biggest unexcavatedprehistoric sites.

The site was firstbegun during the Neolithic period (4000BC-2500BC) and continued through theBronze Age (2500BC-500BC) the Iron Age (500BC-400AD) and the medieval period. TheCelts arrived in Ireland in roughly 500BC bring with them the knowledge of ironsmelting. They did not replace the inhabitants, the Beaker People, but the twopopulations melded into one.

They did, however,replace whatever myths/religious significance of the Rathcroghan site withtheir own. It is believed that the largest mound was topped with an enormoustemple. Rathcroghan became the capital of the kingdom of Connacht and was home tothe mythological Queen Maeve.

Rathcroghan was alsoclosely associated with Samhain, a major Irish festival that we know asHalloween. The cave of Oweynagat, which was believed to be an entrance to theunderworld, the home of the Sidhe, the fairy folk.

The site is scatteredwith ring forts and burial mounds that remain unexcavated. It would be amazingto see what’s inside, but that is not to be.

I’m really enjoyingdiving into Irish mythology for my next book, The Fairy Queen, book three inthe Midsummer Women series. I hope to have it finished by the end of the year,but all this fascinating research is distracting me!

 

TheMidsummer Women and Now Comes the Raven

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Book Review: The Rise of the Mad March

 

 

THE RISE OF THE MAD MARCH by ROBERT ESPENSCHEID JR.

New Adult / Coming of Age / FriendshipPublisher: Stoney Creek PublishingPages: 374Publication Date: May 9, 2025


SYNOPSIS

This one is for all the rock bands who never headlined the big stage, who never needed protection getting to the limo, who never made any money, who never got signed, who had no answer to the cry of “why aren’t you guys famous?” It’s for those who wrote killer songs never heard on the radio, who never made a Rolling Stone cover—or even a mention inside. It’s for those whose collars were always blue, who were promised this and wound up with that, who always opened and never closed.

America, 1973. Christine on lead, Henry on rhythm, Gretchen on bass and Melissa on drums. A chaotic rise, fighting amongst themselves, battling self-destruction, finding their sound, learning to trust, finding a helping hand, overcoming convention (girls can’t play guitar) to become one band, on one tour, for one month – New York to LA and all the stories in between.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Rob Espenscheid, Jr. is a Connecticut native and a 1966 Wake Forest College graduate. After an Army RVN stint in 1969, Rob pulled up stakes and moved to the rural Midwest, settling in southern Iowa in the early 1970s. Prairie life provided a career tuning and repairing pianos from cattle country small towns to collegiate concert halls. When not tinkering on a piano, he can usually be found either on a golf course or working on a manuscript. In 1998, family connections led to a move, with his wife Sharon, to Smithville, Texas.

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REVIEW

Review: The Rise of the Mad March

The Short Story: An entertainingtale of the chaotic beginnings of a punk band

My Review: It’s the early 1970s,a time of change and upheaval. The music industry has no idea what is coming!The Rise of the Mad March is the story of a piano tuner, two felons and acollege student who come together to form a band. As the story unfolds, itjumps back and forth between the period of their formation and their firsttour. Some chapters are in the form of interviews with band members.

Henry, the piano tuner, is themagician who makes the band happen. I enjoyed his drive, devotion and beliefthat it would all work out in the end. His first female bandmates are a pair offelons, biding their time in a halfway house. The trio soon picks up a fourthmember, an abused college student. Together they slowly gel into somethingmagical.

In the latter half of the book,when the band embarks on a chaotic cross county tour, they encounter many ofthe big names of the 1970s: Billy Crystal, The Ramones, Lita Ford and more. Fromdive bars to baseball parks, the Mad March makes their presence felt on themusic scene and the emerging punk genre. I really enjoyed the scene where the bandplays at Comisky Park, during a White Sox game. I will say, I wish there wasmore of a feel of the 70s to the story; it felt almost out of time, but despitethat I really enjoyed the story.

There is a lot to take away fromthis book. The joy of doing what you love, pursing your passion, belief inyourself, supporting the people who support you. There are life lessons to befound between the pages, if you care to look. Otherwise, it’s a fun, fast talewith a bittersweet ending. I loved it.

 

To learn more about the book, look for #LSLLTheRiseOfTheMadMarch on your preferred social media platform.

 

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Boy With Wings by Mark Mustian

 

 

Welcome to The Book’sDelight and a stop on the book tour for Boy With Wings, a literary historicalfiction that sounds amazing! Check it out here!

The Details:

Book Title: Boy With Wings

Series: n/a

Author: Mark Mustian

Publication Date: March 15th, 2025

Publisher: Koehler Books

Pages: 322

Genre: Literary Fiction / Historical Fiction

  

 

 

Blurb:

 

 “A brilliant fever dream of a novel, ahaunting coming of age story reminiscent of both Franz Kafka and CharlesDickens.”

~ Chris Bohjalian, #1 New York TimesBestselling Author of The Jackal’s Mistress

 

*Next GenerationIndie Book Awards 2025 First Place Winner*

 

What does it meanto be different?

When Johnny Cruel is born with strangeappendages on his back in the 1930s South, the locals think he's a devil.Determined to protect him, his mother fakes his death, and they flee. Thusbegins Johnny's yearslong struggle to find a place he belongs.

From a turpentine camp of former slaves to afreak show run by a dwarf who calls herself Tiny Tot and on to the Floridacapitol building, Johnny finds himself working alongside other outcasts,struggling to answer the question of his existence. Is he a horror, a wonder,or an angel? Should he hide himself to live his life?

Following Johnny's journey through love,betrayal, heartbreak, and several murders, Boy With Wings is a story of the sacrifices andfreedom inherent in making one's own special way-and of love and the miraclesthat give our lives meaning.

 

 

Buy Link:

 

Universal Buy Link: https://books2read.com/u/mdxEoR

 

 

Author Bio:

 Mark Mustian is the author of the novels "TheReturn" and "The Gendarme," the latter a finalist for the DaytonInternational Literary Peace Prize and shortlisted for the SaroyanInternational Award for Writing. It won the Florida Gold Book Award for Fictionand has been published in ten languages.

The founder of the Word of South Festival of Literature andMusic in Tallahassee, Florida, his new novel, "Boy With Wings," isout in 2025.

 

 

Author Links:

 

Website: https://markmustian.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/@markmustian

Facebook: https://facebook.com/markmustianauthor

LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/mark-mustian

Bluesky: https://markmustian.bsky.social

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Mark-T.-Mustian/author/B0CSF8JY2Y 

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3463600.Mark_Mustian

 

 

 

 

Medieval Recipe: Swan Pie with Lombard Mustard

 

Therewas very little that went uneaten in the early middle ages, including themajestic swan, herons and cranes. They were often boiled and chopped and putinto a pie. Here’s a recipe for Lumbard Mustard to serve alongside your ‘swanpie.’

Take mustard seed andwaishe it & drye it in an ovene, grynde it drye. farse it thurgh a farse.clarifie hony with wyne & vynegur & stereit wel togedrer and make it thikke ynowz. & whan þou wilt spende þerof makeit tnynne with wyne.

 Takemustard seed and wash it and dry it in an oven. Force it through a force? (probablymeans to grind it in a mortar). Add clarified honey, wine, vinegar and stir itwell together and make it thick. When thou will spende (use it) thereof, makeit thin with wine. 

This recipe is from The Form of Cury, a compilation of recipes from the chef at the court of King Richard the II in 1390. Lombardy, a reigion in Northern Italy was seen as the source of haute cuisine, hence the name Lombard Mustard!

Irish Fairies: The Púca (Pooka)

 

The Púca

The púca or pooka is asupernatural being known throughout Europe but is mostly associated withIreland. The pooka is a mischievous fairy that can shape shift into variousanimal including goats, bulls, cats, and hares. The fairy may also take theform of a human but with telltale animal features such as ears or a tail. Italso has a human voice and can offer advice to those who will listen. It ismost often seen as a black horse with golden eyes.

The púca can be benign,or even helpful, but also has the ability to cause harm. There are stories ofthe púca assisting farmers with their work, but also of taking unsuspectingriders for a wild and terrifying journey.

The púca can be foundin writings as early as the 8th century. It is said that you cancontrol the fairy by wearing sharp spurs, most likely made of iron of which thecreature is afraid.

Púcas are also known tospit on wild fruit like blackberries, causing eaters to become ill.

1 November is Púca Day,a day on which they are expected to behave themselves!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I'm pretty sure a púca will be making an appearance in my next book which will be full of Irish mythology. This will be the third installment of my Midsummer Women Series. Check out the first two here:

 

White Feathers by Susan Lanigan

Welcome to a spotlight stop onthe Coffeepot book tour for White Feathers by author Susan Langian! Hope youenjoy.

 

The Details:

Book Title: White Feathers

Series: White Feathers, Book #1

Author: Susan Lanigan

PublicationDate: 21/3/2025

Publisher: IdéeFixe Press

Pages: 398

Genre: Historical Fiction

 

Any Triggers: Abortion(non-graphic), Death

 

 

The Blurb:

 

"Anti-war and anti-patriarchy without ever saying so- a bravura performance of effortless elegance" - Irish Echo inAustralia

SHORTLISTEDFOR THE ROMANTIC NOVEL OF THE YEAR AWARD 2015

In 1913,Irish emigrée Eva Downey receives a bequest from an elderly suffragette toattend a finishing school. There she finds friendship and, eventually, love.But when war looms and he refuses to enlist, Eva is under family and socialpressure to give the man she loves a white feather of cowardice. The decisionshe eventually makes will have lasting consequences for her and everyone aroundher.

Journeywith Eva as she battles through a hostile social order and endeavours to resistit at every turn.

 

Buy Link:

 Universal Buy Link: https://books2read.com/u/4APnB0

 

 

Author Bio:

 

Susan Lanigan’s first novel White Feathers, atale of passion, betrayal and war, was selected as one of the final ten in theIrish Writers Centre Novel Fair 2013, and published in 2014 by Brandon Books.The book won critical acclaim and was shortlisted for the UK Romantic Novel ofthe Year Award in 2015. This edition is a reissue with a new cover andforeword.

Her second novel, Lucia’s War, also concerningWWI as well as race, music and motherhood, was published in June 2020 and hasbeen named as the Coffee Pot Book Club Honourable Mention in the ModernHistorical Book of the Year Award.

Susan lives by the sea near Cork, Ireland, with herfamily.

 

 

Author Links:

 

Website: https://susanlanigan.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100028262426042

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/susanlanigan_books/

Threads: https://www.threads.net/@susan_lanigan

Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/susanlanigan.bsky.social

Book Bub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/susan-lanigan

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.co.uk/stores/author/B00MTKLNLO

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4181196.Susan_Lanigan

 

 

 

 

Book Spotlight: Under the Gulf Coast Sun by Skip Rhudy

 

 

UNDER THE GULF COAST SUNBy SKIP RHUDY

Romance / Coming of Age / SurfingPublisher: Stoney Creek PublishingPages: 266Publication Date: April 22, 2025

SYNOPSIS
This coming-of-age tale set against the sun-soaked beaches of 1970s Port Aransas, Texas, is a love letter to the people and culture of the Texas coast and the enduring allure of the Gulf of Mexico. 
Eighteen-year-old Connor O’Reilly isn’t ready to leave his beloved hometown until the tourist girl he met the previous summer, Kassie Hernandez, returns to Port Aransas for one final vacation before college. Their tumultuous summer fling is wrecked by a freak accident in which Connor is lost at sea. His long years of surfing and fishing in the Gulf, as well as Kassie’s desperation to reunite with him, are pitted against the enormity and utter indifference of the sea. 

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Skip Rhudy grew up surfing in Port Aransas, Texas. He has translated poetry and prose from German to English, and translated Wolfgang Hilbig’s novella Die Weiber for his master’s thesis in 1990 at the University of Texas. His short stories were published in numerous small press magazines in the mid-1990s, and his novella One Punk Summer was published in 1993 and reprinted in 2021.


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Beltane: The Celtic celebration of the beginning of Summer

 

Beltane ~ Celebration of Fire
Beltane is traditionally celebrated the night of April 30th into May 1st. This is the midway point between the Spring Equinox and the Summer Solstice. It was widely observed in Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man up until the early 1900s. It is currently celebrated in its neo-pagan reinvention.
Originally a Celtic pagan celebration, it is believed by some to honor the god Belenus, the god of fire. He was mainly worshiped in Gaul and Britian as is similar to the Roman god Apollo. According to some, Belenus was the husband of the Irish Celtic Danu, mother of the Tuatha de Danann.
The word Beltane come from the proto-celtic word meaning 'bright fire.' The celebration itself is centered around fire. On Beltane, the celts would move their cattle to the summer pastures. Two large bonfires were lit and the cattle were driven around the fire. 
The people would extinguish their fires in their hearths. They too would circle the fires, getting cleansed by the smoke which had the power of healing and protection. When the fires burned down, they would take embers from the bonfire home to rekindle their hearth fires. 
Beltane was also a day to visit a holy well, make offerings to the gods and pray for protection. It is likely that there was music, dancing and feasting, but there is little record of the actual events of the pagan ceremony. It is also believed that like Samhaim, Beltane is a time when the Aos Si, the fairies, are particularly active.
Today, neo-pagans celebrate Beltane. The Beltane festival in Edinburgh is one of the largest in the world, drawing crowd of 15,000 people with hundreds of performers.
Do you celebrate Beltane? What do you do? I think it sounds like a fun way to welcome Summer! 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Find out more about my books!
Now Comes The Raven

Book Spotlight: Moonset on Desert Sands by Sherri L. Dodd

 

 

MOONSET ON DESERT SANDS Murder, Tea, & Crystals, Book Two By Sherri L. Dodd

Paranormal Thriller / Fantasy / Magical Realism / Witch-LitPublisher: Black Rose WritingPages: 360Publication Date: March 27, 2025

SYNOPSIS
With a traumatic year of fending off a serial killer behind her, Arista has settled contentedly into her temporary home with Auntie in Sedona, Arizona. She enjoys her new job selling all things metaphysical and even has her eye on the hot security guard, Dakota, after her recent breakup with Shane.

But a series of new fainting spells has her worried, and when Auntie witnesses one, they decide the answer lies in her home of Boulder Creek. However, returning means not only dealing with her breakup and its heartache but also the possibility of drawing her bloodthirsty Uncle Fergus to her once safe haven in the redwoods. And this time he has recruited an even more dangerous alliance.

Arista's closest bonds will be strengthened, but the mounting tension of a death in the desert, a stalker on the streets, and the relentless pursuit of Fergus puts her in dangerous territory, and escaping sorrow proves impossible.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sherri L. Dodd was raised in southeast Texas. Walking barefoot most days and catching crawdads as they swam the creek beds, she had a love for all things free and natural. Her childhood ran rampant with talk of ghosts, demons, and backcountry folklore. This inspired her first story for sale, about a poisonous flower that shot toxins onto children as they smelled it. Her classmate bought it for all the change in his pocket. Shortly thereafter, her mother packed the two of them up and headed to the central coast of California. Since that time, she has worked corporate, married, raised two sons, and now writes full-time creating atmospheric paranormal fiction. Her debut novel – Murder Under Redwood Moon – shot straight to #1 on Amazon, holding firm as a Best Seller in the Occult Supernatural genre.

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Spotlight: The Ballad of Mary Kearney by Katherine Mezzacappa

 

Welcome to a stop on the Coffeepot Book tour for TheBallad of Mary Kearney by Katherine Mezzacappa. This one looks really great!

 

The Details:

Book Title: The Ballad of Mary Kearney

Author: Katherine Mezzacappa

Publication Date: 14th January 2025

Publisher: Histria

Pages: 288

Genre: Historical Fiction

Triggers: Some scenes of violence, including judicial killing;rape.

 

 

 

Blurb:  

‘I am dead, myMary; the man who loved you body and soul lies in some dishonorable grave.’ InCounty Down, Ireland, in 1767, a nobleman secretly marries his servant, in defianceof law, class, and religion. Can their love survive tumultuous times?

‘Honest andintriguing, this gripping saga will transport and inspire you, and it justmight break your heart. Highly recommended.’ Historical Novel Society

'Mezzacappabrings nuance and a great depth of historical knowledge to the cross-classromance between a servant and a nobleman.' Publishers Weekly.

The Ballad ofMary Kearney is a compelling must-read for anyone interested inIrish history, told through the means of an enduring but ultimately tragiclove.

 

Buy Link:

UniversalBuy Link: https://books2read.com/u/3yxPpJ

 

Author Bio:

 

KatherineMezzacappa is Irish but currently lives in Carrara, between the Apuan Alps andthe Tyrrhenian Sea. She wrote The Ballad of Mary Kearney (Histria) and TheMaiden of Florence (Fairlight) under her own name, as well as fourhistorical novels (2020-2023) with Zaffre, writing as Katie Hutton. She alsohas three contemporary novels with Romaunce Books, under the pen name KateZarrelli.

 

Katherine’sshort fiction has been published in journals worldwide. She has in additionpublished academically in the field of 19th century ephemeral illustratedfiction, and in management theory. She has been awarded competitive residenciesby the Irish Writers Centre, the Danish Centre for Writers and Translators and(to come) the Latvian Writers House.

 

​​Katherinealso works as a manuscript assessor and as a reader and judge for aninternational short story competition. She has in the past been a managementconsultant, translator, museum curator, library assistant, lecturer in Historyof Art, sewing machinist and geriatric care assistant. In her spare time shevolunteers with a second-hand book charity of which she is a founder member.She is a member of the Society of Authors, the Historical Novel Society, theIrish Writers Centre, the Irish Writers Union, Irish PEN / PEN na hÉireann andthe Romantic Novelists Association, and reviews for the Historical NovelReview. She has a first degree in History of Art from UEA, an M.Litt. in Eng.Lit. from Durham and a Masters in Creative Writing from Canterbury ChristChurch. She is represented by Annette Green Authors’ Agency.

 

 

Author Links:

 

Website:https://katherinemezzacappa.com/

Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/katherinemezzacappafiction

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katherine-mezzacappa-09407815/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/katmezzacappa/

Bluesky:https://bsky.app/profile/katmezzacappa.bsky.social

AmazonAuthor Page: https://www.amazon.com/author/katherinemezzacappa