Deborah Swift's Blog, page 11
December 11, 2022
The Model Spy by Maryka Baggio
THE MODEL SPY is based on the true story of Toto Koopman, who spied for the Allies and Italian Resistance during World War II. Largely unknown today, Toto was arguably the first woman to spy for the British Intelligence Service. Operating in the hotbed of Mussolini’s Italy, she courted danger every step of the way. As the war entered its final stages, she faced off against the most brutal of forces—Germany’s Intelligence Service, the Abwehr.
PRAISE FOR THE MODEL SPY
“In this impressive biographical novel, Maryka Biaggio presents World War II spy Toto Koopman as he remarkable woman she proved herself to be. Moving and illuminating, this dramatic depiction of an intrepid individual is an admirable blend of fascinating fact and wonderfully conceived fiction.” ~Margaret Porter, author of Beautiful Invention: A Novel of Hedy Lamarr
From the Back Cover
Celebrated model Toto Koopman had beauty, brains, and fame. Born to a Dutch father and Indonesian mother, she took up the life of a bon vivant in 1920s Paris and modeled for Vogue magazine and Coco Chanel. But modeling didn’t satisfy her. Fluent in six languages, she was adventurous and fascinated by world politics.
In London she attracted the attention of Lord Beaverbrook, the William Randolph Hearst of England. She soon became his confidante, companion, and translator, traversing the Continent and finding herself caught in the winds of impending war. Beaverbrook introduced her to influential people, including a director at the British Intelligence Service, who schooled her in espionage.
When Germany invaded Poland, Toto came face to face with reality: either fight the Axis powers or lose the world she loved. She moved to Florence, joined the Italian resistance, and began sending intelligence to London. But Mussolini’s Blackshirts and the Nazi’s military intelligence had her in their crosshairs and, as they pursued her, her courage was tested to the limit.
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About Maryka
Maryka Biaggio is an award-winning novelist who specializes in historical fiction based on real people. She enjoys the challenge of starting with actual historical figures and dramatizing their lives– figuring out what motivated them to behave as they did, studying how the cultural and historical context may have influenced them, and recreating some sense of their emotional world through dialogue and action. Doubleday published her debut novel, Parlor Games, in 2013. Eden Waits and The Point of Vanishing were published by Milford House Press (2019, 2021). She lives in Portland, Oregon.
Website: www.MarykaBiaggio.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/ParlorGames
December 6, 2022
Son of Anger by Donovan Cook – Read an Extract #CoffeePotBookClub #Historical #Viking
Read this gripping extract from Son of Anger, Book 1 in the Ormstunga Trilogy
They were halfway through their breakfast when the horn blew. The men looked up from their bowls and at each other. It was time. Snorri looked around at the seven men he thought of as friends and brothers.
“My brothers,” he said with a smile, “I will see you after the battle or in Valhalla.”
“After the battle or in Valhalla,” they echoed. Ulf felt oddly comforted by the words, the surety behind them that they will meet again. As they went to their tents to get their spears and shields, Ulf wondered if his friends felt as nervous as he did.
“Drumbr!” Thorbjorn shouted over his shoulder. “If you get to Valhalla before me, make sure you leave me some of the mead.”
“No need to worry about that. The mead in Valhalla is endless,” Brak Drumbr responded.
“Not with the way you drink. You’d drink old Heidrun dry before any of us got there,” his brother quipped. The men laughed as they got their spears and shields.
Ulf saw that Vidar wasn’t in the tent when he went in. He thought that was strange. Maybe Vidar was already outside, but then why had Ulf not seen him? Ulf took his spear and shield and went out to meet the others. When he got to the hill, Thorgils was busy giving the orders.
“Snorri, I want you and your men on the right flank. Amund, you will be on the left flank.” He looked at the two men and was satisfied with their nods. “Now, where in Odin’s name is Ragnar?” Ulf realized Ragnar was not with the jarl, which was also strange.
“Ragnar?” Snorri asked, also seeing that his father’s champion wasn’t there. He knew the champion would want to be nowhere else right now.
“Yes, I sent him to my tent to fetch my helmet and to get Thorvald. He should be here as well.”
Snorri shrugged. “I’m sure he is on his way. Maybe he had to take a piss first.”
“Snorri’s right,” Jarl Amund answered. “I will get my men ready,” he said and walked away. Ulf saw him look at his son, Oddi, and give the briefest of nods as he did so.
“Perhaps,” Thorgils said. “Snorri, you do the same.” The two of them clasped hands. “After the battle or in Valhalla.”
“After the battle or in Valhalla, Father,” Snorri responded and walked to his men.
“Ulf,” the jarl said before Ulf could follow Snorri. Ulf turned and looked at the jarl. “May Tyr be with you today.” Ulf was surprised by the words. The jarl had never liked him, or so it had seemed. Ulf nodded his thanks and went after Snorri.
He was surprised not to see Vidar waiting for him by Snorri’s men. “Anyone seen Vidar?” he asked as he planted his spear into the ground to put his helmet on.
“No, thought he was with you,” Asbjorn said. He had been less hostile towards Ulf after they had seen Griml, but Ulf still felt some distrust from him.
“He wasn’t in the tent when I got there.”
“He’ll be here,” Snorri said, smiling at him.
Ulf nodded and made sure his helmet sat firmly. The enemy line formed up opposite theirs. They were close enough so he could see the individual faces of the men who wanted to kill him. Their line was longer than Thorgils’, but they had expected that. Griml had more men. A ripple ran through the line near the centre, the way wheat fields parted when walked through, and Ulf saw him. It was hard not to, he was at least two heads above the rest. He walked through his cheering men with his arms raised in the air, filled with arrogance and preening like a prized cockerel showing off its flamboyant plumage. Only, a prized cockerel wasn’t so ugly, or as frightening.
Griml stood in front of his men and looked along the line of Thorgils’ men like he was searching for something. Ulf did not feel the shock he had felt when he first saw Griml outside his hall, but he felt the same fear and uncertainty run through him. Griml carried on searching along the line until he found what he was looking for. Ulf. He locked eyes with him and an arrogant grin spread across his ugly face, revealing a mouth of rotten teeth. Ulf could only stare back, caught in the emptiness of the giant man’s eyes. The path to Hel, through the bloody marshes of his dreams. Griml walked along the line of his men, his eyes still fixed on Ulf. He didn’t seem to care about the two hundred other men. He didn’t seem to be afraid of them. But then, fear was probably a feeling Griml had never felt before.
“What’s he doing?” Snorri asked, but got no response. All around him men muttered the same question, like Snorri, not understanding what they saw.
Ulf had visions of his dreams again as Griml came closer and it took all his will not to shudder in fear. Finally, Griml stopped, directly opposite Ulf.
“Maybe he’s trying to insult your father?” Oddi suggested.
“Or he wants us. We did kidnap his bride,” Thorbjorn suggested.
“No, he’s looking at Ulf. He wants Ulf, not us,” Snorri said, frowning as he tried to understand.
More about Son of Anger:
Ulf is like a storm, slowly building up its power, he grows more dangerous with each passing moment. And like all storms, he will eventually break. When he does, he will destroy everything in his path.
Ulf is one of a long line of famous Norse warriors. His ancestor Tyr was no ordinary man, but the Norse God of War. Ulf, however, knows nothing about being a warrior.
Everything changes when a stranger arrives on Ulf’s small farm in Vikenfjord. The only family he’s ever known are slaughtered and the one reminder of his father is stolen — Ulf’s father’s sword, Ormstunga. Ulf’s destiny is decided.
Are the gods punishing him? All Ulf knows is that he has to avenge his family. He sets off on an adventure that will take him across oceans, into the eye of danger, on a quest to reclaim his family’s honour.
The gods are roused. One warrior can answer to them. The Son of Anger.
Connect with Donovan: Website: https://www.donovancook.net/
The post Son of Anger by Donovan Cook – Read an Extract #CoffeePotBookClub #Historical #Viking first appeared on Deborah Swift.December 5, 2022
The Hearts of All on Fire by Alana White #15thCentury #MurderMystery #CoffeePotBookClub
Florence, 1473. An impossible murder. A bitter rivalry. A serpent in the ranks.
Florentine investigator Guid’Antonio Vespucci returns to Florence from a government mission to find his dreams of success shattered. Life is good—but then a wealthy merchant dies from mushroom poisoning at Guid’Antonio’s Saint John’s Day table, and Guid’Antonio’s servant is charged with murder. Convinced of the youth’s innocence and fearful the killer may strike again, Guid’Antonio launches a private investigation into the merchant’s death, unaware that at the same time powerful enemies are conspiring to overthrow the Florentine Republic—and him. A clever, richly evocative tale for lovers of medieval and renaissance mysteries everywhere, The Hearts of All on Fire is a timeless story of family relationships coupled with themes of love, loss, betrayal and, above all, hope in a challenging world.
Buy The Book https://books2read.com/u/md1RGZ
Barnes & Noble Paperback: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-hearts-of-all-on-fire-alana-white/1141662345
Waterstones Paperback: https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-hearts-of-all-on-fire/alana-white/9781639884216
About Alana White:
Alana White’s passion for Renaissance Italy has taken her to Florence for research on the Vespucci and Medici families on numerous occasions. There along cobbled streets unchanged over the centuries, she traces their footsteps, listening to their imagined voices, including that of her protagonist, Guid’Antonio Vespucci and his friends, Sandro Botticelli, Michelangelo, Lorenzo de’ Medici.
Alana’s first short story featuring real-life fifteenth-century lawyer Guid’Antonio Vespucci and his favorite nephew, Amerigo Vespucci, was a Macavity Award finalist and led to the Guid’Antonio Vespucci Mystery Series featuring “The Sign of the Weeping Virgin” (Book I) and “The Hearts of All on Fire” (Book II). She is a member of the Women’s National Book Association and the Historical Novel Society, among other organizations. She loves hearing from readers, and you can contact her at her website, www.alanawhite.com.
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AlanaWhite1480 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authoralanawhite/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alanawhiteauthor/
The post The Hearts of All on Fire by Alana White #15thCentury #MurderMystery #CoffeePotBookClub first appeared on Deborah Swift.December 1, 2022
The Fortune Keeper – and my Newsletter
Hello to followers of my blog. This is the sort of thing I send out in my Newsletter to let people know about my books, and to keep in touch with readers. You can join the newsletter and my company of readers by clicking the main link on my website.
New Release Newsletter:
Thank you to all of you – you are the people who have supported my writing by buying or borrowing books, giving feedback or leaving reviews, and also by replying to my newsletters so I feel connected to my readers. Thanks to you, The Fortune Keeper is already a ‘Hot New Release’ on Amazon. So you might need oven gloves if you pick it up today! The ebook will stay at 99p/99c until after the weekend then go back to its regular price.
Here it is at last – Publication Day for The Fortune Keeper
I’m celebrating! The Fortune Keeper is available now in paperback and ebook, and Diana Croft is recording the audiobook which will be out soon.
You can buy the book HERE: https://mybook.to/FortuneKeeper
More about THE FORTUNE KEEPER
Count your nights by stars, not by shadows ~ Italian Proverb
Winter in Venice 1643
Mia Caiozzi is determined to discover her destiny by studying the science of astronomy. But her stepmother Giulia forbids her to engage in this dangerous occupation, fearing it will lead her into trouble. The ideas of Galileo are banned by the Inquisition, so Mia must study in secret.
Giulia insists Mia should live quietly out of public view. If not, it could threaten them all. Giulia’s real name is Giulia Tofana, renowned for her poison Aqua Tofana, and she is in hiding from the Duke de Verdi’s family who are intent on revenge for the death of their brother. But Mia doesn’t know this, and rebels against Giulia, determined to go her own way.
When the two secret lives collide, it has far-reaching and fatal consequences that will change both their lives forever.
Set amongst opulent palazzos and shimmering canals, The Fortune Keeper is the third novel of adventure and romance based on the life and legend of Giulia Tofana.
‘Swift has an almost visceral understanding of what makes history worth reading, and she is also the perfect tour-guide to take her readers on a trip back in time to a dangerous past … a must-read for fans of quality Historical Fiction.’ Coffee Pot Book Club ★★★★★
The Cutting Room Table
Writing a book is a long process, and the book has been a year in the making. During the process many alterations and changes take place, which is why you need a good editor who will pick up any inconsistencies and plot-holes. Richard Sheehan, my editor, is great at picking these out, so I’m really grateful to him for his invaluable help.
Here is a chunk of text I cut out in order for the narrative to move more quickly near the end of the book. You are the only people to see this, as it doesn’t appear in the final version of the book. If you get the book, you will soon see where it would have fitted!
Unpublished Extract from The Fortune Keeper
Giulia stumbled ashore from the fishing vessel at the port of Pescara, in the Kingdom of Naples. She brushed down her habit and tried to stand upright, though she was weary and the journey had taken three and a half days, far longer than she’d hoped. She had refused food from the fishermen, who had taken pity on her when no boat was to be had further up the coast. They had taken her aboard, hoping a nun would bring them luck, and persuade God to give them a good catch.
Unfortunately it meant waiting whilst they filled their nets, when all she wanted to do was get nearer to where Mia was held hostage. She sent up a prayer for her to Santa Olivia. Please, give her protection. Let me not be too late.
Her sea-legs almost gave way as she staggered up the stone slipway to the rough-rendered town. The sun was hot now, and her face rimed with spray. She scrubbed it away, feeling the taste of salt on her lips. She had been at sea so long and her stomach had deposited its contents into the water too often. Now she was weak, but determined to find a carriage that would take her to Venice. She gazed at the gulls enviously as they screeched and wheeled above her head. What she wouldn’t give for their wings right now.
At the main square she asked directions and there was a post with the times of the carriages chalked upon it. She stared at the times aghast. A carriage had departed an hour ago, and there was not another until tomorrow. She almost wept. And the hardest part of the journey was to come – through mountain passes and long plains.
She had to get there somehow. Lifting her bag of essentials, she headed for the church. The priest was unable to offer any solution, except to loan her a mule, and the services of his serving man, who would guide her to the next town.
Giulia remembered the feeling of being alone and running away all too well. Only this time she was running to something, and not away from it.
Thank you for reading!
Get in the mood for the book with an atmospheric 4 minute Video trip to Venice
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RjQGHNh0d-A
For writers:
Many thanks to those of you who came to my History Quill Class on Engaging your Reader’s Imagination. I hope I’ve put my own ideas into practice! It’s always a slippery slope to give other writers advice, because all novels are a unique product of one person’s mind, and their particular faith in the story they are telling. And there are so many ways to tell a successful story. I am so often in awe of writers who can do things with their text that I can’t.
There will be a few articles from me coinciding with this launch, as I will be doing an online blog tour. The first article on Crime and mask-wearing in Renaissance Venice is live here in the Historia Magazine.
I will put links to the rest in my next newsletter in December.
Meanwhile, here is my article on Writing a Series of Stand-Alones on Carol McGrath’s blog.
There is an article explaining my editing process here: https://deborahswift.com/editing-historical-fiction/ (Sorry about the lack of pictures, they didn’t transfer from my old website)
Home News
I am working on the next WW2 book now, (in my newly shelved office) and taking some time to read other people’s books, to reflect and to spend time with my family. My sister is visiting today and will arrive from Scotland by train so we can spend some time together and catch up. I’m expecting lots of reminiscences about growing up, even though that was — ‘gulp’ years ago!
My current reading is ‘Spy Capital of Britain’ – Research for my WW2 book, and ‘V is for Victory’ by Lissa Evans (who wrote the book of the film ‘Their Finest’). Both are really interesting books. The first one I suspect is only of interest to geeky people like me who want to know why rural Bedfordshire became a hot-bed of intelligence in WW2, but Lissa Evans’ book is a great example of characters that really live in the imagination.
The winner of this month’s draw for an e-copy of The Fortune Keeper is …
Next month will be a special Christmas draw with more winners, and I hope some festive cheer
Until next time
Deborah x
The post The Fortune Keeper – and my Newsletter first appeared on Deborah Swift.November 10, 2022
Writing Viking women back into history by Jean Gill #Viking #HistoricalFiction #amwriting
My guest today is Jean Gill, here to tell us more about her fantastic Orkney saga and the Viking women in her novel.
Ring of Brodgar, Orkney
Meek and anonymous or shield-maidens laying about them with axes? What were Viking women really like? These were the questions in my mind when I started researching 12th century Viking Orkney so I could inhabit a society new to me and write the story that had to be told. A story that began for me in the prehistoric burial chamber of Maehowe on Mainland, Orkney, when the guide said the magic words, ‘12th century’ and I realised that the graffiti on the walls around me were Viking runes, carved in my special period.
In The Troubadours series, I included the adventures of amazing real and fictional women in 12th century France, Spain, the Holy Land and Wales. Could I do justice to the medieval women who’d lived on these bleak islands that were a part of Norway, about which I knew nothing? One of the runic messages on that wall was Jórsalaheim-farers broke Orkhaugr. Carved by Hlif, the Jarl’s housekeeper.
Jórsalaheim-farers means Jerusalem-farers, in other words, pilgrims. I already knew that the Jarl (Earl) of Orkney set sail for Jerusalem in 1150 or 1151 and called in at Narbonne en route, where he fell in love with its hereditary lady ruler Viscomtesse Ermenarda (a key character and episode in my novel Song at Dawn).
Orkhaugr means the prehistoric tomb of Maeshowe, which was broken into during the 12th century. And Hlif is a woman’s name. These runes were carved by a woman named Hlif, who was housekeeper to the Earl of Orkney. Not only was this woman carving runes but she also had an important profession: housekeeper or even steward, if we try to remove the sexist bias in the choice of term; and she was recording a historical event. The pilgrims broke into the tomb. I can’t tell you how exciting this was, how much it challenged the ‘meek and anonymous’ notion of Viking women while not suggesting a murderous shield-maiden. Hlif might well have used an axe to carve the runes, as the archaelogists only say that different tools were used for the various messages. But I did not imagine her wielding an axe on raiding and pillaging trips. She had power as manager of the Earl’s Bu (Hall) and the notion that women generally trained as warriors strikes me as unlikely. There is no evidence that they didn’t, and the mythical Valkyries are indeed warrior-maidens, but I am enough in awe of the real, recorded achievements of women without writing them into shield-wall warfare.
Viking Ship Stained Glass by Burne-Jones
In the last twenty years there have been some stunning archeological finds, from boat burials to jewellery hoards, that have added complexity to the previous image of Vikings as murdering raiders. The current picture of traders and travellers, whose colonies included eastern Europe and parts of England, includes active roles for women and many surprises.
Women had property rights, even within marriage, and could demand a divorce. Those are more
rights than women had in 19 th century Britain.
Women travelled. They were part of new colonies and they sailed on merchant ships
Women traded and took responsibility for finances.
Women were spinners and weavers, making the sails so vital for Viking culture. ‘Spinster’ was a title to be proud of in a society where men’s fates were decided by the mythical (female) Norns.
Women were farmers and managers, especially when their menfolk were on raiding trips in the spring and summer.
Women with magical powers (the volva) were respected and consulted by gods and men in myths and sagas. Wands have been found in burial goods beside women’s skeletons but not beside men’s. ‘Witches’ might have been feared but they were also revered and not persecuted as in later British Christian history.
Some women thralls (slaves) integrated into society and married Viking men. It was not considered a stigma for a Viking to have an Irish thrall mother or grandmother. Hitting a woman was considered unmanly and, in the sagas, led to divorce or revenge.
This is not to say that there was sexual equality. Far from it! But Viking women did have more status and rights in society than did their Anglo-Saxon counterparts, which gave me enough confidence to portray Hlif exactly as I saw her. That one runic message is history’s only record of Hlif. I followed one archaeologist’s speculation on who her father might be, based on her name and the date of the runic graffiti – mid 12th century – and she is real to me. This is the first time Skarfr and the reader meet Hlif.
Extract from Chapter 2, The Ring Breaker
‘What are you doing?’
Skarfr looked up and blinked. Bright-haired against the sunshine, a girl screwed her face up in puzzlement, making her eyes so small he could barely distinguish their colour. Stormy grey. Even against the sun, her skin was curdled milk, speckled as Botolf’s roan pony with so many freckles they joined into blotches. He’d never seen a girl so ugly but then he hadn’t seen many girls at all. Brigid’s, face scored with suffering and fatigue, occasionally bore traces of the raven-haired beauty she must once have been.
‘Nothing,’ he replied. At which stupid reply, the girl opened her eyes fully, the better to bestow contempt on him.
‘You shouldn’t talk to me. Or even be seen with me,’ she informed him with hauteur. ‘I’m going tskim stones.’
While Skarfr still sought appropriate words and found none, she selected pebbles carefully, for flatness and size, and walked into the waves. She was barefoot like himself but her girl’s apparel was less convenient for paddling. Although she’d rearranged her wool belt to hitch up both her pinafore overdress and her longer undergown, the hems of both must be getting wet.
She didn’t seem to care about anything but her success in beating her own numbers. ‘Not a good start,’ she muttered, as a marbled grey pebble skipped three times and sank. When she achieved seven skips, she gave a humph of satisfaction. ‘I’ll stop there.’
She jiggled her remaining stones.
Then hurled one straight at a diving cormorant.
‘No!’ shouted Skarfr, suddenly freed from his paralysis. He rushed her from behind, made her stumble and lose the rest of her pebbles. Her clothes dipped full into an oncoming wave, that broke around them in a froth of laughter, mimicking the girl.
She pushed past him to get out of the water. ‘What’s the matter with you?’
‘Nothing,’ he replied, flushing. He couldn’t help glancing out to sea. Spear-straight, his cormorant dived again. In the time it took a stone to skip seven times, she surged up, far from where she’d entered the water, silver wriggling in her mouth before she contorted her long throat and swallowed the fish. She was
fine.
The girl was staring at him. He felt like a fish wriggling.
‘Do you always spoil the fun?’ she demanded, her face as red as her hair, her clothes dripping.
‘No,’ he said.
He considered his answer then, ‘Yes,’ he said.
Then, ‘That’s none of your business.’
He liked that answer best because he could repeat it to any other question she asked.
I really recommend this book. READ MY REVIEW
BUY THE BOOK: The store of your choice
» WORLD free delivery paperback from The Book Depository – coming soon» amazon.com» amazon.co.ukContact Jean on Twitter: @writerjeangill On her Website: https://jeangill.com/
The post Writing Viking women back into history by Jean Gill #Viking #HistoricalFiction #amwriting first appeared on Deborah Swift.November 2, 2022
Spotlight on Squire’s Hazard by Carolyn Hughes #CoffeePotBookClub #Medieval
How do you overcome the loathing, lust and bitterness threatening you and your family’s honour?
It’s 1363, and in Steyning Castle, Sussex, Dickon de Bohun is enjoying life as a squire in the household of Earl Raoul de Fougère. Or he would be, if it weren’t for Edwin de Courtenay, who’s making his life a misery with his bullying, threatening to expose the truth about Dickon’s birth.
At home in Meonbridge for Christmas, Dickon notices how grown-up his childhood playmate, Libby Fletcher, has become since he last saw her and feels the stirrings of desire. Libby, seeing how different he is too, falls instantly in love. But as a servant to Dickon’s grandmother, Lady Margaret de Bohun, she could never be his wife.
Margery Tyler, Libby’s aunt, meeting her niece by chance, learns of her passion for young Dickon. Their conversation rekindles Margery’s long-held rancour against the de Bohuns, whom she blames for all the ills that befell her family, including her own servitude. For years she’s hidden her hunger for retribution, but she can no longer keep her hostility in check.
As the future Lord of Meonbridge, Dickon knows he must rise above de Courtenay’s loathing and intimidation, and get the better of him. And, surely, he must master his lust for Libby, so his own mother’s shocking history is not repeated? Of Margery’s bitterness, however, he has yet to learn…
Beset by the hazards these powerful and dangerous emotions bring, can young Dickon summon up the courage and resolve to overcome them?
Secrets, hatred and betrayal, but also love and courage – Squire’s Hazard, the fifth MEONBRIDGE CHRONICLE.
BUY THE BOOK #KindleUnlimited
About Carolyn:
October 30, 2022
Gallows Wake by Helen Hollick #NewRelease #Pirate #Historical
Delighted to feature Helen Hollick today with the latest addition to her Piratical adventures. Helen is a massive supporter of other historical fiction authors and their books and is an ardent reader and reviewer. Here’s Helen to tell us more about GALLOWS WAKE.
THE SEA WITCH VOYAGES of CAPTAIN JESAMIAH ACORNE
Back in 2005/6 I thoroughly enjoyed the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie – it was pure, entertaining fun. But I wanted more. I wanted the same sort of thing to read. Swashbuckling adventure-fantasy with characters to fall in love with. (I mean, who didn’t fall for Jack Sparrow?) I found plenty of ‘straight’ nautical fiction, quite a few good Young Adult piratical adventures, but nothing with that frisson of believable fantasy/supernatural entertainment for adults. So I wrote something myself. I hadn’t intended that first Voyage, Sea Witch, to expand into an entire series, but my pirate – Captain Jesamiah Acorne – became so real to me, and far,
far more intriguing than that Sparrow Fellow! I found myself wanting to delve into more adventures with him and his crew. Now, here in 2022, I have recently published the sixth Voyage, with an additional novella prequel tale as a bonus to the series. And more planned for the future.
That’s what is fascinating about a good, well-written series: the characters develop as they become your friends, and you not only want to know ‘what happens next’ but also ‘what happened previously’. I write each story to be a standalone adventure with its own plot, its own action, romance, misunderstandings, trials, tribulations and dangers, but incorporated into each story a gradual uncovering of what makes the lead characters ‘tick’ – where they came from and where they are going to. The same with a good TV series, there is the main, different plot to each episode featuring familiar and new characters, but there is also that unravelling of an ongoing, continuous thread of discovery. There is the echo of reality, of life, the new and unexpected interwoven with the familiar – but also, the unexpected. I saw the Sea Witch Voyages and Jesamiah as a compilation of fictional characters all rolled into one: Jack Sparrow, Jack Aubrey and Hornblower amalgamated with Richard Sharpe, James Bond and Indiana Jones. The sailing detail I wanted to get as spot-on accurate as I could. The touches of historical fact, maybe slightly adapted where necessary, but suitably used as a background to the plots. And I added in a believable, acceptable narrative of fantasy. Tiola, a white witch, Tethys, the spirit of the sea. Glimpses of a past life. Superstition and the supernatural. A sailor’s yarn of tales of mermaids, spirits and ghosts.
And I discovered, as the Sea Witch Voyages developed, that Jesamiah had a very interesting background to explore. [Alert: no spoilers included!] He ran away from his Virginia home at the age of almost fifteen in 1708. His mother and father were dead and he’d finally had enough of being bullied by his half-brother. He arrived at Port Royal, Jamaica, and met up with a good friend of his father’s – ostensibly a privateer aboard Mermaid. Here, Jesamiah learnt to sail, how to fight – and how to become an efficient and effective pirate. (When The Mermaid Sings). In Sea Witch (Voyage 1) we live his life as a pirate, with all its dangers and excitements. We also meet the young lady who is to become the love of his life, Tiola Oldstagh. Who is not all she seems… Their relationship is to be a tad upsy-downsy, after all, what is stronger – the love of a woman, or the love of the sea? (I’ll not say more, I promised ‘no spoilers’!) In #2 Pirate Code, Jesamiah, now an ex-pirate having accepted the King’s Amnesty, is coerced into a role he does not want – during which he is to meet the second love of his life, the spy, Francesca Escudero, and has to come to terms with the events of the past and the potentials of the future. By #3 Bring It Close, he is still in trouble – trouble follows him like a ship’s wake – but this time in trouble with Tiola and Governor Spotswood of Virginia. Against Jesamiah’s better judgement he finds himself embroiled in plans to rid the seas of the most notorious pirate of the Golden Age of Piracy – Blackbeard! There are complications, though. (1) How to placate his irate wife. (2) How to stay alive long enough to achieve 1, and (3) What to do about, and ignore, his dead father? Ghosts do not exist. Or do they? If they don’t, then who is the chap hanging around the Virginia plantation where Jesamiah grew up? The chap who seems to be keeping a close eye on
what Jesamiah is up to? And it just so happens, that much of Bring It Close is set in October – at Hallowe’en!
THE VOYAGES
SEA WITCH Voyage one
PIRATE CODE Voyage two
BRING IT CLOSE Voyage three
RIPPLES IN THE SAND Voyage four
ON THE ACCOUNT Voyage five
WHEN THE MERMAID SINGS A prequel to the series
GALLOWS WAKE The Sixth Voyage of Captain Jesamiah Acorne
Where the Past haunts the future…
Damage to her mast means Sea Witch has to be repaired, but the nearest shipyard is at Gibraltar. Unfortunately for Captain Jesamiah Acorne, several men he does not want to meet are also there, among them, Captain Edward Vernon of the Royal Navy, who would rather see Jesamiah hang.
Then there is the spy, Richie Tearle, and manipulative Ascham Doone who has dubious plans of his own. Plans that involve Jesamiah, who, beyond unravelling the puzzle of a dead person who may not be dead, has a priority concern regarding the wellbeing of his pregnant wife, the white witch, Tiola.
Forced to sail to England without Jesamiah, Tiola must keep herself and others close to her safe, but memories of the past, and the shadow of the gallows haunt her. Dreams disturb her, like a discordant lament at a wake. But is this the past calling, or the future?
From the first review of Gallows Wake:
“Hollick’s writing is crisp and clear, and her ear for dialogue and ability to reveal character in a few brief sentences is enviable. While several of the characters in Gallows Wake have returned from previous books, I felt no need to have read those books to understand them. The paranormal side of the story—Tiola is a white witch, with powers of precognition and more, and one of the characters is not quite human—blends with the story beautifully, handled so matter-of-factly. This is simply Jesamiah’s reality, and he accepts it, as does the reader.” Author Marian L. Thorpe.
BUY THE BOOK
Amazon Author Page (Universal link) https://viewauthor.at/HelenHollick
Where you will find the entire series waiting at anchor in your nearest Amazon harbour – do come aboard and share Jesamiah’s derring-do nautical adventures!
(available Kindle, Kindle Unlimited and in paperback) Or order a paperback copy from your local bookstore!
ABOUT HELEN HOLLICK
First accepted for traditional publication in 1993, Helen became a USA Today Bestseller with her historical novel, The Forever Queen (titled A Hollow Crown in the UK) with the sequel, Harold the King (US: I Am The Chosen King) being novels that explore the events that led to the Battle of Hastings in 1066. Her Pendragon’s Banner Trilogy is a fifth-century version of the Arthurian legend, and she writes a nautical adventure/fantasy series, The Sea Witch Voyages. She is now
also branching out into the quick read novella, Cosy Mystery genre with her Jan Christopher Murder Mysteries, set in the 1970s, with the first in the series, A Mirror Murder incorporating her, often hilarious, memories of working as a library assistant.
Her non-fiction books are Pirates: Truth and Tales and Life of A Smuggler. She lives with her family in an eighteenth-century farmhouse in North Devon and occasionally gets time to write…
Find Helen here:
Website: www.helenhollick.net
Newsletter Subscription: http://tinyletter.com/HelenHollick
Blog: www.ofhistoryandkings.blogspot.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/HelenHollick
Twitter: @HelenHollick https://twitter.com/HelenHollick
October 17, 2022
The Godmother’s Secret by Elizabeth St John #PrincesInTheTower #CoffeePotBookClub
May 1483: The Tower of London. When King Edward IV dies and Lady Elysabeth Scrope delivers her young godson, Edward V, into the Tower of London to prepare for his coronation, she is engulfed in political turmoil. Within months, the prince and his brother have disappeared, Richard III is declared king, and Elysabeth’s sister Margaret Beaufort conspires with her son Henry Tudor to invade England and claim the throne.
Desperate to protect her godson, Elysabeth battles the intrigue, betrayal and power of the last medieval court, defying her Yorkist husband and her Lancastrian sister under her godmother’s sacred oath to keep Prince Edward safe. Bound by blood and rent by honour, Elysabeth is torn between the crown and her family, knowing that if her loyalty is questioned, she is in peril of losing everything—including her life.
Were the princes murdered by their uncle, Richard III? Did Margaret Beaufort mastermind their disappearance to usher in the Tudor dynasty? Or did the young boys vanish for their own safety? Of anyone at the royal court, Elysabeth has the most to lose–and the most to gain–by keeping secret the fate of the Princes in the Tower.
Inspired by England’s most enduring historical mystery, Elizabeth St.John blends her family history with known facts and centuries of speculation to create an intriguing story about what happened to the Princes in the Tower.
REVIEW
Princes in the Tower by Millais
This is a book that will thrill historical fiction fans, especially those who like their fiction based around the royal households. The novel begins with a traumatic birth, and this not only presages what is to come, but also cements the bond between Elysabeth Scrope and the infant future heir to the throne, Edward V. As the novel progresses the bond between Elisabeth and Ned is skilfully built, so that we really believe her allegiance to the young prince is her primary concern, even though this conflicts with family loyalties. Her sister Margaret Beaufort, mother to Henry Tudor is intent on advancing him instead, and abhors his exile from court.
The two women are skilfully drawn as adversaries although still siblings. In this power-torn England, the machinations behind the scenes writhe like snakes. Elysabeth has little power in that day and age to protect her charge – for example she is thrown out of the Tower, having been told her services are no longer required. She does what she can within her power, continually searching to fulfil her role as Godmother to the boy, and drawing her maidservant Meg along in her wake.
A foil to all the double-dealing is Elysabeth’s husband, Jack, a straightforward man of principle and affection who will offer her support when he can. Not so, the eventual Richard III, who seems ruthless in pursuit of power behind his reasonable facade.
The beauty of Elizabeth St John’s alternative version of events is that it reads as perfectly plausible. This is achieved by attention to detail in the clothing, food, manners and hierarchies of life at court, and in the Tower of London, and in the terse relationships between the main players in the action. Of course we all know there is a mystery behind what happened to the princes, and Elizabeh St John uses this tension to great effect.
This is a fantastic example of what a historical novelist can do – to shine a light into history, find new interpretations for past events, and to give little-known characters from history their chance to speak. A five star read that is very warmly recommended.
BUY THE BOOK Universal Link: https://geni.us/GodmothersSecret
Contact Elizabeth: www.ElizabethJStJohn.com Find her on Twitter:
The post The Godmother’s Secret by Elizabeth St John #PrincesInTheTower #CoffeePotBookClub first appeared on Deborah Swift.
October 10, 2022
Highly Recommended Read of the Month: The Ring Breaker by Jean Gill #Viking #HistoricalFiction
About The Ring Breaker
‘A skilfully written, beautifully researched coming-of-age story set in Viking Orkney.’ Lexie Conyngham, the Orkneyinga Murders series
Loyalty has a price the children pay
In the twilight of the old gods, when the last Vikings rule the seas, two cursed orphans meet on an Orkney beach and their fates collide.
Stripped of honour, facing bleak loneliness ahead, Skarfr and Hlif forge an unbreakable bond as they come of age in the savage Viking culture of blood debts and vengeance. To be accepted as adults, Skarfr must prove himself a warrior and Hlif must learn to use women’s weapons. Can they clear their names and choose their destiny? Or are they doomed by their fathers’ acts?
The award-winning author of The Troubadours Quartet returns to the 12th century, with skalds instead of troubadours and Viking warriors instead of crusaders. Get ready for authentic medieval adventures steeped in poetry, politics and passion. Perfect for fans of Bernard Cornwell Matthew Harffy and Madeline Miller.
‘Reads from start to finish like a saga straight from a skald’s mouth.’ B.A. Morton, The Favour Bank
‘All the hallmarks of a Jean Gill novel – political intrigue, action and adventure, and a love story fraught with difficulties!’ Jane Davis, Small Eden
Review
A fantastic coming-of-age story. I can’t imagine historical fiction better than this – absolutely brilliant. A tour-de-force of storytelling, Viking lore, and the rugged landscape of Orkney. This was one of the highlights of my reading year. The characters of Hlif and Skarfr are brave, resourceful and intelligent and I Ioved them both. Jean Gill convinces with her well-researched, atmospheric re-construction of a far off age.
Skarfr is being trained by his cruel foster-father who wants to beat the poetry out of him and turn him into a man like himself, strong but devoid of finer feeling. His training consists of many adventures, and at first he is derided by and then supported by his friend Hilf, a girl gifted with second sight and a powerful sense of her own destiny. The book is richly detailed and the epic sea journeys over wild waves, and the land punctuated by coarse grass and ancient longbarrows is wonderfully evoked. A culture of storytelling, myth and warrior-tales, along with the struggle for political domination between two rival jarls, makes this a read full of intrigue, battle and betrayal.
I can’t wait for their next sea-faring adventure. Thank you Jean Gill for a brilliant read. When’s the next?!
BUY THE BOOK: The store of your choice
» WORLD free delivery paperback from The Book Depository – coming soon» amazon.com» amazon.co.ukContact Jean
Twitter: @writerjeangill
Website: https://jeangill.com/
The post Highly Recommended Read of the Month: The Ring Breaker by Jean Gill #Viking #HistoricalFiction first appeared on Deborah Swift.October 4, 2022
Julia Prima by Alison Morton #CoffeePotBookClub #Review #Rome #Thriller
JULIA PRIMA by Alison Morton
Blurb
“You should have trusted me. You should have given me a choice.”
AD 370, Roman frontier province of Noricum. Neither wholly married nor wholly divorced, Julia Bacausa is trapped in the power struggle between the Christian church and her pagan ruler father.
Tribune Lucius Apulius’s career is blighted by his determination to stay faithful to the Roman gods in a Christian empire. Stripped of his command in Britannia, he’s demoted to the backwater of Noricum – and encounters Julia.
Unwittingly, he takes her for a whore. When confronted by who she is, he is overcome with remorse and fear. Despite this disaster, Julia and Lucius are drawn to one another by an irresistible attraction.
But their intensifying bond is broken when Lucius is banished to Rome. Distraught, Julia gambles everything to join him. But a vengeful presence from the past overshadows her perilous journey. Following her heart’s desire brings danger she could never have envisaged…
My Review:
What a rollercoaster. I’ve been meaning to get to this series for ages, and worried that I would need to know something of the other books – but no, this book stands perfectly alone and will have you eagerly flipping the pages to find out what happens next. In Noricum, Roma Nova, its 370 AD and royal daughter Julia Bacausa lives a relaxed life with her father, who was once an elite fighter. One day at the market she is caught by surprise by her intense feelings for a Roman soldier. (Julia has been divorced by her own Pagan laws, but her Christian husband Deodatus still refuses to divorce her.) After this hot and passionate encounter she doesn’t expect to see the Roman again, but wouldn’t you know it, when the Roman commander visits, the same Roman turns up again as part of a delegation to her father. His name is Lucius Apulius, he is the commander’s Tribune, and his arrival in Julia’s life certainly brings complications. At the outset I expected Apulius to be the obvious alpha male, but through the story he turns out to be much more than that. Julia herself is bold and courageous, and unafraid to tackle anything in her way.
The novel is written in crisp vivid prose which really evokes the sights, sounds and smells of this alternative Rome. It is hard to believe the story is a fabrication because the Roman history has been so well welded to the narrative. This is a fast moving adventure with characters to believe in, plenty of travel, a fair bit of violence, and a hot and passionate romance.
I can see why this series has been highly praised and I heartily recommend Julia Prima to all who enjoy a thriller with a strong woman at its heart.
BUY THE BOOK : https://books2read.com/JULIAPRIMA
Find Alison HERE:
Alison Morton’s World of Thrillers Facebook author page Twitter
The post Julia Prima by Alison Morton #CoffeePotBookClub #Review #Rome #Thriller first appeared on Deborah Swift.
