Judith Arnopp's Blog, page 12
August 22, 2023
The Coffee Pot Book Club Blog Tours present: The Shadow Earl by Stella Riley
Book Title: The Shadow Earl
Series: n/a
Author: Stella Riley
Publication Date: 15th July, 2023
Publisher: Stella Riley
Page Length: 433
Genre: Historical Romance
Twitter Handles: @RileyStella @cathiedunn
Instagram Handles: @stellarileybooks @thecoffeepotbookclub
Tour Schedule Page: https://thecoffeepotbookclub.blogspot.com/2023/07/blog-tour-shadow-earl-by-stella-riley.html
The Shadow Earl
Stella Riley
Audiobook narrated by Alex Wyndham
Blurb:
At the end of his Grand Tour, somewhere between Athens and Constantinople, Christian Selwyn, the young Earl of Hazelmere, vanished - seemingly without a trace.
Time passes. In London, his uncle and cousin move into his home … while his unofficial fiancée, Sophia, is left desolate and in limbo. Finally, his friends – loyal and close as brothers – set out to search in person.
Christian’s startling re-appearance at a grand ball takes society by storm and fuels endless speculation. Where has he been during these three missing years? What happened to him?
And more importantly, how did it happen?
Only one thing is clear. The earl who left England five years ago, has returned a changed man. A man with secrets.
Excerpt
An incident between Messrs Selwyn & Shelbourne at the Cocoa Tree Club
Daniel immediately noticed two things. Basil Selwyn and his idiotic friends sitting near the Hazard table … and a footman about to serve them a steaming bowl of punch. Opportunity and temptation coincided. One very slight movement was all it took. The footman tripped, lurched, fumbled with the bowl … and a couple of pints of rum punch cascaded over Mr Selwyn.
‘What the – ?’ Basil leapt from his seat in a sticky shower, whirled to deliver a blistering tirade … saw Daniel and froze.
‘You!’ he spat. ‘You did that, you bastard.’
Several gentlemen at the Hazard table stopped playing to watch.
‘What?’ asked Daniel. ‘Don’t be ridiculous. The poor fellow tripped, that’s all.’
‘Not without help,’ raged Basil, dripping and trying to drag off his ruined coat. ‘You tripped him. Deliberately.’
‘And risk the stuff being spilled over me? Hardly. Dare I mention that you have a slice of lemon in your hair?’
Basil hurled his coat aside, groped blindly for the lemon and glared at the footman. ‘You. Tell me the truth. He tripped you, didn’t he?’
The poor man hesitated, swallowed and stammered that it had been an accident.
‘Calm down, Selwyn,’ advised Daniel as the footman fled. ‘Your imagination is running away with you. It’s been doing that a lot recently, hasn’t it?’
More heads turned, somebody sniggered and play at the Hazard table ceased.
Ignoring this, Basil growled, ‘I know what you did!’
‘You don’t because I didn’t.’ Daniel smiled sympathetically, ‘You should try Mrs Baxter’s Elixir. My great-aunt swears by it when her nerves are – ’
‘There’s nothing wrong with my nerves, damn you! You tripped the footman. Admit it!’ And when Daniel shook his head, ‘Then you’re a bloody liar!’
The gasp of shock that rippled through his audience was lost on Basil, as was the voice advising, ‘Take that back while you still can, Selwyn.’
Buy Links:
Universal Link: https://books2read.com/u/meqpeZ
Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Shadow-Earl-Stella-Riley-ebook/dp/B0C6VMXVTC/
Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/Shadow-Earl-Stella-Riley-ebook/dp/B0C6VMXVTC/
Amazon CA: https://www.amazon.ca/Shadow-Earl-Stella-Riley-ebook/dp/B0C6VMXVTC/
Amazon AU: https://www.amazon.com.au/Shadow-Earl-Stella-Riley-ebook/dp/B0C6VMXVTC/
Barnes and Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-shadow-earl-stella-riley/1143607582?ean=2940166065582
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/gb/en/ebook/the-shadow-earl
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1401655
Winner of four gold medals for historical romance (Readers' Favourite in 2019, Book Excellence Awards in 2020, Global Book Awards in 2022 and Book Excellence Award in 2023) and fifteen B.R.A.G. Medallions, Stella Riley lives in the beautiful medieval town of Sandwich in Kent.
She is fascinated by the English Civil Wars and has written six books set in that period. These, like the 7 book Rockliffe series (recommended in The Times newspaper!) and the Brandon Brothers trilogy, are all available in audio, narrated by Alex Wyndham.
Stella enjoys travel, reading, theatre, Baroque music and playing the harpsichord. She also has a fondness for men with long hair - hence her 17th and 18th century heroes.
Social Media Links:
Website: https://stellarileybooks.co.uk
Twitter: https://twitter.com/RileyStella
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stellariley.books
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stellarileybooks/
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.co.uk/riley9631/stella-riley-books/
Book Bub: https://www.bookbub.com/search?search=Stella%20Riley
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Stella-Riley/e/B0034PB7UU
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/171405852-the-shadow-earl
July 31, 2023
The Coffee Pot Blog Tours present: The Lady of the Tower by Elizabeth St.John – Audio book!
Book Title: The Lady of the Tower
Author: Elizabeth St.John
Publication Date: 28th January, 2016 (print)
Publisher: Falcon Historical
Page Length: 395 pages
Genre: Historical Fiction
Audiobook:
Narrator: Bridget Thomas
Publication Date: 8th May, 2018 (audio)
Audio Length: 14 hours 40 minutes
The Lady of the Tower
By
Elizabeth St.John
Blurb:
"Elizabeth St John has brought the Stuart Court vividly to life. She weaves together the known facts of Lucy’s life with colourful scenes of fictional imagination, drawing on innocent romance and bleak deception to create a believable heroine and an intriguing plot." Historic Novel Society Book Review
"The Lady of the Tower is a beautifully produced novel with a well-crafted story that will keep you both engaged and entertained. A joy to read. Thank you for sharing your world with us."
Writers Digest 24th Annual Book Awards
London, 1609. When Lucy St.John, a beautiful highborn orphan at the court of King James, is seduced by the Earl of Suffolk, she never imagines the powerful enemy she creates in his beloved sister, the Countess of Rochester. Or that her own sister Barbara would betray her and force Lucy to leave the court in disgrace. Spirited, educated, and skilled in medicine and precious remedies, Lucy fights her way back into society, and through an unexpected love match, becomes mistress of the Tower of London.
Living inside the walls of the infamous prison, she defies plague, political intrigues and tragic executions to tend to aristocratic prisoners and criminals alike. Now married into the immensely powerful Villiers family, Barbara unites with the king’s favorite, the Duke of Buckingham, to raise the fortunes of Lucy and her family to dizzying heights. But with great wealth comes treachery, leaving Lucy to fight for her survival—and her honor—in a world of deceit and debauchery.
Elizabeth St.John’s critically acclaimed debut novel tells the true story of her ancestress Lucy through her family’s surviving diaries, letters, and court papers. Lucy’s personal friendships with historical figures such as Sir Walter Raleigh and the Stuart kings brings a unique perspective to the history of seventeenth century England.
Buy Links:
The ebook is available to read on Kindle Unlimited.
Universal Buy Link: https://geni.us/MyBookLOTT
Audiobook Buy Links:
Available on BookBub Chirp for only $3.99 during August:
https://www.chirpbooks.com/audiobooks/the-lady-of-the-tower-by-elizabeth-st-john
On all other platforms from $7.99 or FREE with an Audible subscription:
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Elizabeth St.John’s critically acclaimed historical fiction novels tell the stories of her ancestors: extraordinary women whose intriguing kinship with England's kings and queens brings an intimately unique perspective to Medieval, Tudor, and Stuart times.
Inspired by family archives and residences from Lydiard Park to the Tower of London, Elizabeth spends much of her time exploring ancestral portraits, diaries, and lost gardens. And encountering the occasional ghost. But that’s another story.
Living between California, England, and the past, Elizabeth is the International Ambassador for The Friends of Lydiard Park, an English charity dedicated to conserving and enhancing this beautiful centuries-old country house and park. As a curator for The Lydiard Archives, she is constantly looking for an undiscovered treasure to inspire her next novel.
Elizabeth's books include her trilogy, The Lydiard Chronicles, set in 17th Century England during the Civil War, and her newest release, The Godmother's Secret, which explores the medieval mystery of the missing Princes in the Tower of London.
Audio clip to go with this Snippet:
Chapter Eight
Whitehall
Barbara got up from Frances’s side and walked across the room to me. Under the pretense of an embrace, she whispered clearly.
“’Struth, Lucy, if you intend to pursue this road with Theo, judge your odds and be prepared to wager the stakes, for those who aim high can also fall far. Do not look to me for aid, for you choose your own path, and if ruin is the outcome, I shall publicly disown you.”
I stepped back involuntarily.
“What have I ever done to make you hate me so much?” I asked. “I don’t understand why you are this way to me.”
“Not hate. Indifference. I do not see what others see in you. And my plans will not be compromised by your foolishness. Straighten your gown — you reveal too much.” She pulled the soft muslin across my reddened skin, kissed my cheek as though she were Judas, and left.
“Theo . . .”
I turned to him for reassurance, but he was gone. Drawn into Carr’s circle, he was loudly joking and drinking steadily from a goblet of wine. As I stared at him, trying to reconcile this frivolous courtier with the man I loved, he shrugged, laughing at his situation, and turned back to his friends. The musicians, who sounded so glorious when I first arrived, now rang discordant. I sickened of the entire confusing visit to White Hall and wished myself back in the peace of Lydiard.
“But you know this is the way of the court.”
The night lay between us, and we met at the Stone Gallery again during the afternoon promenade. The pavement reflected a cold light; falling snow continued to swathe the palace in gauze, softening the angles of the roofs and chimneys, and settling on charcoal-etched branches. A woman in a crimson cloak hurried across the privy garden, a daub of color in a black-and-white landscape. I wondered whose arms she was seeking, so swiftly, in such inclement weather. All my thoughts turned first to lovers now.
I touched Theo’s arm to bridge the distance.
“I know, I am not stupid. Anne has told me of her years at court where she witnessed firsthand the deceptions and lies, the flattery and untruths. It just does not sit right with me to see you in that world.”
“Ah, Lucy, it’s just a game. Seize the opportunity to know us better, and you will find this amusing. As long as you do not take yourself seriously, there is no harm in playing these subtleties.”
“Is that what last night was?”
“No, that was no game, for you have captured my heart and enchanted my soul, Titania.” He pulled me to him, ignoring the glances of those around us. “Learn the ways of White Hall, and enjoy courtly love.”
Social Media Links:
Website: Twitter: Facebook: LinkedIn: Instagram: Book Bub: Amazon Author Page: Goodreads:
July 20, 2023
Fabulous New Release from Charlene Newcomb
A knight sworn to keep a family secret.
A king who seeks revenge.
A daring plan to save one life…or condemn many.
England 1216AD. Sir Robert Fitzwilliam faithfully serves the English crown, but when the outlaw Allan a Dale, a childhood friend, is captured and thrown in the sheriff’s dungeons beneath Nottingham Castle, trouble is certain to follow.
Allan’s days are numbered. Nothing would please King John more than to see an old nemesis hanged. Nothing except watching Robert’s estranged father, Robin, dangling dead from a rope beside him.
When his father joins forces with the Hood gang to rescue Allan, enlisting the aid of friends and even the girl he loves, Robert must decide where his loyalties lie.
TALES OF ROBIN HOOD
Before there was Robin Hood, there was Allan of the Hood. You know their story – in Sherwood Forest, they rob from the rich and give to the poor. Rogue is a retelling of the origins of the Robin Hood legends set during a time of a rebellion and invasion near the end of King John’s reign. It’s a thrilling adventure of loyalty, love, sacrifice, spies, and intrigue.
Available on Amazon: https://mybook.to/RogueTales
Charlene Newcomb, aka Char, writes historical fiction and science fiction. Her Battle Scars trilogy is set in the 12th century during the reign of Richard the Lionheart. It’s filled with war, political intrigue, and a knightly romance of forbidden love. All 3 books are indieBRAG Medallion honorees; Book II is a Historical Novel Society Editors Choice, a finalist in the Chaucer Awards for pre-1750 Historical Fiction, and received an Honorable Mention from Writer's Digest.
While medieval historical fiction has her under its spell at the moment, her writing roots are in the Star Wars Expanded Universe (now known as Legends) where she published her first short story in 1994 in the Star Wars Adventure Journal. She published a scifi/space opera, Echoes of the Storm, which was awarded 1st in category in the Chanticleer International Book Awards in 2021.
Librarian (retired).
US Navy veteran.
Mom to 3 grown, amazing people, grandma to 3 adorable boys.
She spends most of the year in Louisiana, but escapes summer heat and humidity visiting family in Washington and Colorado.
Social Media Links:
Website https://charlenenewcomb.com
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/CharleneNewcombAuthor/
Twitter https://twitter.com/charnewcomb
Instagram https://instagram.com/charnewc
Amazon https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B00APY2H16
Subscribe to Char’s Newsletter https://landing.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/p7z5l7
July 19, 2023
The Coffee Pot Book club Blog Tour presents: The Irish Fortune Series by Juliane Weber
Book Title: Under the Emerald Sky: A tale of love and betrayal in 19th century Ireland
Series: The Irish Fortune Series
Author: Juliane Weber
Publication Date: 23 October 2020
Publisher: Independently published
Page Length: 465
Genre: Historical fiction / historical romance
Twitter Handles: @Writer_JW @cathiedunn
IG Handle: @juliane._.weber @thecoffeepotbookclub
Under the Emerald Sky: A tale of love and betrayal in 19th century Ireland
The Irish Fortune Series Book 1
by Juliane Weber
Blurb:
"Under the Emerald Sky reaches another level in storytelling, the kind where the characters remain with you long after you have closed the book." – The Historical Fiction Company
It’s 1843 and the Englishman Quinton Williams has come to Ireland to oversee the running of his father’s ailing estate and escape his painful past. There he meets the Irishwoman Alannah O’Neill, whose family is one of few to have retained ownership of their land, the rest having been supplanted by the English over the course of the country's bloody history. Seeing the injustices of Victorian Ireland, Alannah’s brother Kieran has learned to hate the English and imperialism. Aware of Kieran’s hostility towards the English, Alannah keeps her growing relationship with Quin a secret – but it's a secret that can't be kept for long from those plotting to end England’s oppression of the Irish people. As Quin and Alannah seek happiness in the face of hate and revenge, an action-packed romance ensues.
But all the while, disaster looms – the Great Famine that would forever change the course of Ireland’s history. With repeated failure of the potato harvest upon which most Irish families depend, thousands will go hungry, with sickness and starvation sweeping through Irish farms, decimating poor populations for years to come.
Can Quin and Alannah find happiness in a land teetering on the brink of disaster?
This series is available to read on #KindleUnlimited.
*Under the Emerald Sky, Book 1, ebook is on offer at 0.99.*
Universal Links:
Amazon UK:
Book 1: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08LSC6HN3
Book 2: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0BK6CLCD4
Series: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08Y36G5KJ
Amazon US:
Book 1: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08LSC6HN3
Book 2: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BK6CLCD4
Series: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08Y36G5KJ
Juliane Weber is a scientist turned historical fiction writer, and author of the Irish Fortune Series. Her stories take readers on action-packed romantic adventures amid the captivating scenery and folklore of 19th century Ireland.
Under the Emerald Sky, the first book in the Irish Fortune Series, was awarded bronze medals in The Historical Fiction Company 2021 Book of the Year Contest and The Coffee Pot Book Club 2022 Book of the Year Contest. The second book in the series, Beneath the Darkening Clouds, was awarded a bronze medal in The Historical Fiction Company 2022 Book the Year Contest.
Juliane spent most of her life in South Africa, but now lives with her husband and two sons in Hamelin, Germany, the town made famous by the story of the Pied Piper.
Social Media Links:
Website: https://www.julianeweber.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Writer_JW
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JulianeWeberAuthor
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/julianeweber/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/juliane._.weber/
Book Bub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/juliane-weber
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Juliane-Weber/e/B08M3DYY22/ref=dp_byline_cont_pop_ebooks_1
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/21207265.Juliane_Weber
The Godmother's Secret by Elizabeth St.John – Audiobook Release Special – July 18th - 20th, 2023
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Book Title: The Godmother’s Secret
Author: Elizabeth St.John
Publication Date: 4th October, 2022 (print)
Publisher: Falcon Historical (print)
Page Length: 361 pages
Genre: Historical Fiction
Audiobook:
Narrator: Elizabeth St.John
Publication Date: 27th June, 2023 (audio)
Publisher: Tantor Media (audio)
Audio Length: 11 hours 59 minutes
Hashtags: #HistoricalFiction #PrincesInTheTower #Audiobook #BlogTour #TheCoffeePotBookClub
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The Godmother’s Secret
By Elizabeth St.John
Audiobook narrated by Elizabeth St.John
"An extremely well-written book with depth and complexity to the main characters. The author says she wanted to write a book about family love and tolerance, and a woman's loyalty and courage. She has done so. This is the best book I've read in ages!"
The Ricardian Bulletin, Richard III Society
"The authenticity and historical research displayed within this story is immense and exquisite. Ms. St. John is sure to be a newfound favorite for fans of not only this fractious time in English history, but of all historical fans who adore rich, immersive prose."
Historical Fiction Company 2022 Book of the Year
"A very enjoyable read. The historical veracity is impeccable, and Elysabeth is a likeable, admirable character who faces interesting dilemmas with love and courage."
Historical Novel Society
If you knew the fate of the Princes in the Tower, would you tell? Or forever keep the secret?
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 King Richard and Margaret Beaufort, 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.
Summer 1483 | The Tower of London
At the wharf, we disembark with those who have permission to visit the Tower; some to serve in the bakehouses and kitchens, others arriving to work at the mint or the armory. I pull out the passes and grip them tightly. As we inch towards the Byward Gate, we follow behind a crowd of country women carrying baskets of berries and produce. Even in times of crisis, the Tower must still eat.
I dip into my purse, pull out a handful of coin. One is the newly minted angel with Ned’s likeness on it. “For luck,” I whisper to myself, “for luck.”
“Here.” I thrust the money at the woman standing next to me holding a panier of fragrant wild strawberries nesting in hay. “I’ll take your berries. For this.”
She gawps at me, and I know I am overpaying. But at what cost comes access?
“Give them to me,” I command.
The woman shuts her mouth and hands me her basket. We are at the Byward Gate. I take Meg’s arm.
“Your business?” The guard is taller than me by a foot, with shoulders as wide as the gate, it seems.
“We are taking a gift of berries to the princes,” I say, my throat dry.
“From who?” The guard demands. “And where are your passes?”
“From their uncle, the Duke of Gloucester.” I thrust the papers at him, hold the basket close.
“They ain’t allowed visitors.”
“We are not visitors,” I snap back. “We are family.”
The guard snatches the paper, mouths each word carefully. “Godmother, eh?”
“Godmother,” I reply firmly.
He eyes us both. Meg smiles winningly. I grip the panier so tightly my knuckles turn white, and I have to loosen my fingers. If I don’t see Ned now, I don’t know when I will get this close to him again.
We are holding up the crowd behind us, and I am teetering in the yes-or-no balance of the guard’s thinking.
Let. Me. Pass.
“Go on.”
We are through. We walk under the portcullis, and a bubble of glee rises in my chest and threatens to burst from my mouth in laughter. I swallow it back. I also remember another time I entered through this gate, parading on horseback with Harry and Ned as I triumphantly delivered my godson into the Tower to prepare for his coronation. Pride before a fall, I tell myself. Pride before a fall.
“This way,” I say to Meg. We trudge up the cobblestoned slope to the entry by the Garden Tower, and there are more guards, yet we are not stopped. If we were allowed through the Byward Gate, we must have permission to have come this far. It is an advantage to be a woman. For we are not questioned when we are serving such a menial purpose as bringing food to prisoners. Or perhaps there is no more need to guard a bastard king without prospects or throne.
Audiobook Buy Link: https://geni.us/TGSAudible
The ebook is available to read on Kindle Unlimited.
Elizabeth St.John’s critically acclaimed historical fiction novels tell the stories of her ancestors: extraordinary women whose intriguing kinship with England's kings and queens brings an intimately unique perspective to Medieval, Tudor, and Stuart times.
Inspired by family archives and residences from Lydiard Park to the Tower of London, Elizabeth spends much of her time exploring ancestral portraits, diaries, and lost gardens. And encountering the occasional ghost. But that’s another story.
Living between California, England, and the past, Elizabeth is the International Ambassador for The Friends of Lydiard Park, an English charity dedicated to conserving and enhancing this beautiful centuries-old country house and park. As a curator for The Lydiard Archives, she is constantly looking for an undiscovered treasure to inspire her next novel.
Elizabeth's books include her trilogy, The Lydiard Chronicles, set in 17th Century England during the Civil War, and her newest release, The Godmother's Secret, which explores the medieval mystery of the missing Princes in the Tower of London.
Website: Twitter: Facebook: LinkedIn: Instagram: Book Bub: Amazon Author Page: Goodreads:
July 4, 2023
The Coffee Pot Book Club Blog Tour presents: The King's Champion by Nancy Northcott
Book Title: The King’s Champion
Series: The Boar King’s Honor Trilogy
Author: Nancy Northcott
Publication Date: May 1, 2023
Publisher: Falstaff Books
Page Length: 378
Genre: Historical fantasy with romantic elements
Twitter Handle: @NancyNorthcott @cathiedunn
Instagram Handle: @NancyNorthcottAuthor @thecoffeepotbookclub
The King’s Champion
Nancy Northcott
The Boar King’s Honor Trilogy
A wizard’s misplaced trust
A king wrongly blamed
A bloodline cursed until they clear the king’s name.
Book 3: The King’s Champion
Caught up in the desperate evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force from France in the summer of 1940, photojournalist Kate Shaw witnesses death and destruction that trigger disturbing visions. She doesn’t believe in magic and tries to pass them off as survivor guilt or an overactive imagination, but the increasingly intense visions force her to accept that she is not only magically Gifted but a seer.
In Dover, she meets her distant cousin Sebastian Mainwaring, Earl of Hawkstowe and an officer in the British Army. He’s also a seer and is desperate to recruit her rare Gift for the war effort. The fall of France leaves Britain standing alone as the full weight of Nazi military might threatens. Kate’s untrained Gift flares out of control, forcing her to accept Sebastian’s help in conquering it as her ethics compel her to use her ability for the cause that is right.
As this fledgling wizard comes into her own, her visions warn of an impending German invasion, Operation Sealion, which British intelligence confirms. At the same time, desire to help Sebastian, who’s doomed by a family curse arising from a centuries-old murder, leads Kate to a shadowy afterworld between life and death and the trapped, fading souls who are the roots of her family’s story. From the bloody battlefields of France to the salons of London, Kate and Sebastian race against time to free his family’s cursed souls and to stop an invasion that could doom the Allied cause.
The King’s Champion concludes Nancy’s Northcott’s exciting Boar King’s Honor Trilogy.
Excerpt From Chapter 1– Dunkirk beach
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Dodging blastcraters, rubble, and wrecked autos, the soldiers double-timed it through theruined streets. Kate set her jaw against fatigue and kept up.
At last, theycame to the end of the pavement. Dunes a short distance away flanked the accessto the beach. Each dune had a machine gun emplacement atop it covering theapproach. The unit rushed past them, and the men in front pulled up short. Onlybecause there was room to the sides did those behind them avoid a collision.
“Sweet Christ,”the man beside Kate breathed.
She couldn’tblame him—or the ones who had stopped so abruptly.
The beach wascovered with men. Thousands of them. Standing, sitting, or lying on the sand oron stretchers, they waited for the promised ships.
Somehow, shehadn’t expected there to be so many left. But she did know Britain needed everyone of them. Hitler would surely aim there next.
Kate’s throattightened. She opened the camera and snapped several photos of the crowdedbeach. It would take a miracle to transport all these men away. But Britainwould need every one of them in the coming days.
If she went onan early boat, she would take a slot one of them should have.
Thirsk steppedout of the throng streaming toward the beach. “Come with me, Miss Shaw.”
Following him,she gazed over the sea of men on the sand. They should go before her. But ifthe Nazis broke through before she boarded a ship, she and everyone elseremaining would become prisoners.
The UnitedStates was neutral. Of course, Norway, Holland, and Belgium had been neutraltoo. Now they were occupied. Yet Germany wanted the US to stay out of the war.At least, the cynical side of her thought, until the Nazis had conqueredeveryone else. So the Germans had no reason to hurt her and every reason tosend her safely home.
Kate swallowedhard. She had to do what was right. “Corporal Thirsk, would you do me a favor?”
He lookedbaffled, probably wondering how he could do anything for anyone on this crowdedbeach.
Kate offeredhim her pack. “If you would see this gets to Lew Banks and Consolidated NewsUnion in London, at number seventeen Manchester Square, suite B, I wouldappreciate it. The story of this retreat needs to reach CNU, to be published.”
“Why can’t youtake it?”
“You men shouldgo first. I’ll take the last boat. Do a few interviews, maybe—”
“Bollocks tothat. My orders are to see you make it back.” As though to emphasize hisresolve, he caught her arm.
It was just herluck to pick someone chivalrous. If she could shake him, though, someone elsemight listen. In the distance, coming nearer, the silhouettes of ships andsmaller boats darkened the sunset-dappled water.
Hurry, she thought.Foolish, as they were undoubtedly coming as fast as they could.
Thirsk led herpast a man sprawled on the beach. Stepping around him, Kate realized he wasdead. So was the one a few feet away. And there was an arm. A riddled torso.Another body, with the left side of his body gone and the sand beneath himblood-soaked.
They were justlying there? But…of course. Because there was nowhere to put them.
Her stomachrevolted. She clenched her teeth.
I will not be sick. I will not be sick.
She’d thoughtshe had learned to bear such sights. Yet the men dying here, with rescue on theway, somehow made their mangled bodies worse.
Seekingsomewhere safe to look, she turned her eyes toward the sea. The water lookedunusually calm, moving in slight, gentle swells instead of waves. A man stoodchest-deep in the water, as though waiting. Beyond him…a floating corpse. Bitsof corpses.
Dear God.
Kate swallowedhard and gritted her teeth. This beach might be the road to salvation, but itlooked like a slice of hell.
Thirsk marchedher up to a man barking orders about staying in line. He wore the samebattledress as everyone else but had a Royal Navy patch sewn to the top of hissleeve.
“Join a queue,”the man barked, leveling his sidearm.
Kate froze.
Thirsk,unperturbed said, “Happy to, once this lady has seen whoever’s in command.”
The man jerkedhis head to his right. “Royal Navy. Foot o’ the mole.”
“Really,” Katesaid, “there’s no need—”
A great,dread-laden shout from the waiting men drowned the words. As the queuesscattered along the water’s edge, the drone of aircraft engines and the screamof Stuka divebombers’ sirens drowned their shouts. Messerschmitts strafed thewaiting men.
“Bloody soddingblighters.” Thirsk pulled Kate back from the water. “Get down,” he ordered.
She was alreadydiving for the sand, useless though that was with no shelter. Around them, menlay down, pulling corpses over them as though for shields. Others fired back atthe planes with their rifles though the attackers were well out of range.
Don’t see us, don’t see us, don’t see us. Hard to believe they wouldn’t though. Even in the fading light,everyone’s brown battledress must stand out against the sand.
“Stay down,”Thirsk shouted, dropping down on top of her.
Wishing hercameras were under her, she complied. But she couldn’t help peeking under hisarm at the beach to the east.
Far down thesand, something hit the ground. An instant later, it disappeared in a spray ofsand. Then came a thundering, concussive roar. Men flew in all directions, and thensomething hurled Kate. Everything went dark.
This series is available to read on #KindleUnlimited.
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The Herald of Day
The Steel Rose
The King’s Champion
Nancy Northcott’s childhood ambition was to grow up and become Wonder Woman. Around fourth grade, she realized it was too late to acquire Amazon genes, but she still loved comic books, science fiction, fantasy, history, and romance.
Nancy earned her undergraduate degree in history and particularly enjoyed a summer spent studying Tudor and Stuart England at the University of Oxford. She has given presentations on the Wars of the Roses and Richard III to university classes studying Shakespeare’s play about that king. In addition, she has taught college courses on science fiction, fantasy, and society.
The Boar King’s Honor historical fantasy trilogy combines Nancy’s love of history and magic with her interest in Richard III. She also writes traditional romantic suspense, romantic spy adventures, and two other speculative fiction series, the Light Mage Wars paranormal romances and, with Jeanne Adams, the Outcast Station space mystery series.
Social Media Links:
Website: https://www.NancyNorthcott.com
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June 15, 2023
June 13, 2023
A FREE story from the archive - The King is in his Counting House -by Judith Arnopp
The King is in his Counting House
Judith Arnopp
In a glorious garden green
Saw I sitting a comely queen
Among the flowers that freshe been.
She gathered a flower and sat between.
The lily-white rose me thought I saw,
The lily-white rose me thought I saw.
(The lily-white rose: Davies, Medieval Lyrics, no. 156)
Secrets, everybody has them. I collect other peoples. I hug them to myself and gloat at the power knowledge brings. It began when I was knee high. I saw my father humping a dairymaid and, instead of creeping away, I tarried, taking notes and adding to my store of wisdom. That day I learned, not just that the female servants were mine to dally with, but that knowledge could be used as leverage. From that moment I made it my business to become intimate with the secrets of the household. On reaching the cusp of manhood, a little friendly blackmail eased Mary from the kitchens nicely between my sheets. A month or so later when she ran weeping to my mother with a belly full of troubles, she was sent off in disgrace. I was inconsolable, until I spied her sister, Martha, stealing eggs from the pantry.
Now I am an usher at the royal court, and still I watch. I am unnoticed, hovering like a fly on the wall or a pigeon in the rafters. I linger on stairways, concealed behind tapestries, listening, gleaning, ever alert for the biggest secrets of all. Usually the things I hear are hardly worth the knowing but, every so often, I learn something significant enough to ignite a kingdom … or bring down a king.
I have no love for our king. Henry, the seventh of that name, is not well-loved except, perhaps, by his mother. His instincts are those of a tradesman. He spends his days hunched over account books, his shirts threadbare at the elbow and his fingers stained with ink. For a king he takes an ignoble delight in his heaped coffers but the man fascinates me and I follow him close, discovering what I can.
***
It was quite by chance that I saw him in the gardens, drenching Lady Katherine Gordon in his tainted breath. I watched them as they processed amid the lavender, stopping now and again to exclaim at the flowers. The king plucked a rose and I noted how she drew back from him as she accepted it. Yellow-toothed Henry patted her hand before offering his arm and escorting her onward. She blushed uncomfortably and, my curiosity piqued, I waited and watched as they wandered by.
Oh my! She was fair, the skin of her milk and honey breasts quivering above the square cut bodice. She glistened like a jewel and, of all the king’s treasures, I envied him only this one. I would have squandered my fortune to unpeel her like an orange and feast upon her flesh. Lady Gordon was the object of my heart’s desire. I was never far from her, always watching, always yearning. Had I chosen to I could have bartered my silence for the pleasures of her body and she would not have denied me for Katherine Gordon had a secret that she didn’t want told.
A splash of colour in the orchard and the queen appeared, her ladies gathered around her like fallen apples beneath a tree. The king espied his wife approaching and stepped back from his quarry, the back of his hand brushing her breast, as if by chance. Katherine sank to her knees at the queen’s approach, her velvet train marred with dirt and twigs.
I watched them, a trio of untold truths, and wondered what they whispered of. Their bodies spoke a language of their own. Lady Katherine stood beside the queen, seeking the respite that her royal presence offered from the attentions of the king.
I have affection for our Queen Elizabeth and on that day she was like an exquisite white rose, plucked and for too long starved of water. Her eyes were sad and I knew she could not love the king, who had slaughtered her family. I wished to staunch her unshed tears.
As for Henry, he was the king of secrets. Like me he was a lover of intrigue and his spies were everywhere. He little realised that his own secrets were not safe. When his back was turned Men whispered of how he’d shat in his breeches when King Richard confronted him at Bosworth battle. We knew he lived each day in fear of the assassin’s knife and there were many, myself among them, who would have loved to sink a blade between his shoulders. That is why he did not ride freely among the people. Instead he stayed within his palace and kept about him a guard so heavy that an army couldn’t breach it.
***
Henry shuffled his feet, a shopkeeper beside the natural majesty of his queen. He offered her his arm and I watched them process about the garden. Beneath the façade, he resented her, the beloved of the people. I have seen his face blanch when the common folk
called down a blessing when she passed by. As the eldest surviving child of York, Henry owed his throne to her good breeding. Those who murmured against him were soothed by the knowledge that Elizabeth’s son would follow after. They trusted in the thick blood of York to dilute the tainted stuff of Tudor.
***
The queen laughed merrily, drawing my eye from Henry. She was as fair as the summer sky and I was reluctant to use her secret against her … unless I had to. She was the sister of the one they called the pretender, although there are some who swore his false claims to be true. It was last summer, before they imprisoned Warbeck in the Tower that I found myself privy to the queen’s greatest secret.
Henry, in his magnanimity, had given his prisoner, Warbeck the freedom of the court. I call it freedom but his movements were restricted and he was watched like a hawk. I thought it shameful to see a prince kept among jesters and fools, regarded by all as a figure of fun. Henry was secretly shaken by the pretender’s claims and he was forbidden the company of the queen for a single meeting between the prisoner and his sister could end his rule forever. I had heard Henry call out in the night; his dreams haunted both by those he’d had slain … and those he hadn’t.
When I saw the queen go swiftly into the garden, I followed her and secreted myself away. At first I thought it a lover’s tryst but, when the sun crept from behind a cloud and revealed the face of her companion, my heart began to thump, slow and loud. This was what I had waited for. I sat unmoving, scarcely breathing.
Warbeck stood up when he heard the queen’s soft step. He whipped off his cap.
‘Richard?’ I heard her whisper and they stood, a foot apart, for a long moment before he fell to his knees. While he planted kisses on the back of her hand, her other went out to hesitantly caress his fair hair. Then she gently bade him rise.
‘Elizabeth?’ he murmured, ‘you know me then?’ She did not speak and so he continued.
‘You have grown as fair as Father always said you would, Bess. Do you recall that day when the Frenchman had just jilted you and you were feeling downhearted? I remember Father swearing the Dauphin would come to regret it, for you would grow to be the fairest princess in Christendom!’
A single tear fell upon her cheek.
‘I never wanted marriage with France but it hurt to be discarded all the same,’ she smiled.
‘… and then Uncle Richard gave you a puppy to cheer you …what was his name? Ceasar … Brutus?’
‘Rufus,’ Elizabeth laughed, ‘and didn’t Mother hate him for chewing her new slippers? Two heads, identical in colour, came together at the shared memory. They did not let go the other’s hand but clung on, loath to be parted.
I was empowered. Elizabeth, the queen, had recognised the pretender as her brother. Warbeck was, indeed, the lost prince. It was the answer to York’s prayers. With the queen’s testimony the Plantagenets could knock old Harry from his throne.
I wiped sweat from my brow and watched the couple rise and stroll about the knot garden. I strained to listen and I heard Warbeck say,
‘Will you speak out in my defence, Bess?’ I willed her to answer ‘yes,’ but the queen dropped her head and I saw her shoulders were shaking. At last, she lifted a stricken face to her brother.
‘How can I, Richard? We cannot win out against Henry and if I speak against him he will have me put away, and how can I depose my own son for my brother’s cause? The king is a ruthless man and his retribution would be thorough. I would never see my children again! I would lose everything! My position, my reputation, entirely destroyed! No Richard, there is no chance of success, you must renounce your claims and I will beg Henry for clemency. Persuade him that you are the impostor he says you are. I will entreat him to allow you to retire to the country with Katherine and you can be happy there together. A country squire and his wife; it will be better than prison …or worse.’
Richard’s head went up, his bearing regal.
‘I cannot believe that this is a daughter of York speaking! You know I can never give up my rightful place, Bess. Father would want me to fight Henry to the death and so I shall. I must, and if you will not help me, I will do so without you.’
I heard her speak, proud and determined through her girlish tears.
‘Father would not want you to fight against me and my sons.’
Her tears fell freely now but he did not offer comfort. He knew that all the hopes he had placed on this one meeting had been in vain. Their newfound friendship was crumbling. He let loose a great cry, mixed of anger and anxiety.
‘You will lose, Richard …’ she cried after him as he ran from her presence. She sat down abruptly on the arbour seat and her maid crept up beside her to push a kerchief into her hand.
I remained hidden, dithering on how best to use this knowledge. The country seethed with unrest. I could raise support for Warbeck and help him terminate the Tudor regime but, in backing him, I would lose all chance of winning Katherine. She would become Warbeck’s queen and even further from my reach. If I betrayed him to the man I hated, Henry would show him no mercy, and yet I knew he would reward me well. With Warbeck sentenced to a life of darkness in the Tower, I could offer comfort to his lady. Slowly but surely, hook by hook, I could loosen her stays and ease her into my bed.
***
But now, as I watched her in the garden, I realised I had a rival. His tryst spoiled, the king excused himself to scuttle back to his account books. He bowed over the queen’s hand and then lingered over Katherine’s. When he rose, he left a string of royal spittle on her wrist. I noticed her wipe it on the back of her gown as he shuffled away. The women seemed relieved that he was gone, and breathed more easily as they seated themselves in an arbour.
The red and white roses cascaded above and behind, twining with honeysuckle and late columbines.
‘This is where I saw him last,’ murmured the queen and they cast their eyes about the garden to make sure that none could hear. In my hiding place I pricked up my ears.
‘You are lucky, your majesty, for I, his wedded wife, saw him not at all, not once they had him in the tower.’
Elizabeth placed her hand on Katherine’s. ‘If I could have changed anything, believe that I would have.’
‘I know, I know.’ Katherine replied, her tears trembling like raindrops on the edge of a leaf. ‘How did he seem when you saw him?’
The queen thought for a little, remembering so as to set the picture just right.
‘At first, we were like strangers, each nervous of the other. I hadn’t seen him since he was ten years old and had, for so long, believed him dead. Now, I cannot believe I gave credit to Henry’s tales that my uncle Richard had had my brothers killed. At first, I was afraid I should not know him and, at the same time, I was afraid that I should. I expect he felt the same. It was confusing, a mix of longing and dread, for so much depended upon me knowing him.’
‘So much,’ Katherine whispered, ‘yet, in the end, it meant nothing.’ The queen ignored the barb and continued.
‘As I came along between the lavender, he was sitting just here, where we are now. I recognised the tilt of his head and the way his hair glinted in the sun, the exact shade that Richard’s had been. Then, when he looked up at the sound of my footstep, I knew for certain it was he, the same eyes, same nose. Oh, yes, I knew straight away. As we spoke together, afraid at every moment of discovery, he wracked his brains trying to remember things from his childhood that only I would know. It meant much that I believed in him but he wasted his breath. I should have known him anywhere. I thought that, if I could persuade the king that Richard would make no more claims to the throne, he would at least spare his life, but he would not hear of it. Richard was a threat and so Richard had to die.’
I watched Katherine shred her lace kerchief to pieces in her lap. Her head was down but I could see her chin wobbling. Large drops fell upon her hands.
‘I could not bring myself to believe it would happen,’ she wept. ‘I was certain help would come from somewhere. I was on my knees, night and day, begging for God’s mercy, for a reprieve. And now I can only pray for his heavenly redemption.’ Her voice broke off into an ugly sob and the queen put her arm across her bowed shoulders.
‘At least you have the boy,’ she whispered and I saw Katherine’s head come up sharply.
‘How can you know of that?’
The queen smiled. ‘It is as well, in my position, to know everything that goes on, my dear. I am glad your son thrives, he is my nephew and some day, perhaps, he can take his place at court.’
‘He can never take his rightful place,’ I heard Katherine say, ‘not so long as a son of yours lives.’
I drew in my breath sharply as Elizabeth withdrew her arm.
‘My son will rule after his father, the king. And if I have anything to do with it, Arthur will make a fine king, in the mould of his grandfather, Edward. He will rule in the Yorkist way. Your son, Lady Gordon, will not rule. Take my advice; you must give up all idea of him inheriting the throne. If you want him to live, he must never reveal his identity, not unless you wish to see him swing like his father.’
Katherine dropped her hostility, it fell at her feet like a hot coal. ‘Forgive me, your majesty; I am overwrought. Tell me, Madam, does the king know?’
The queen patted Katherine’s hand and they were friends again. ‘No, no, and he will never hear it from me. I could do nothing for my brother and it gives me some comfort to protect his child.’
Lady Gordon smiled upon her queen. ‘I am not able to see my son for more than a few weeks in the year. I would leave the court but the k…the king will not hear of it. I am kept in what he calls ‘honourable confinement.’’
‘I know that also, Katherine, and you have my condolence. I realise that your confinement suits the king’s purposes very well. It is unlike Henry to dally with women but, you have my blessing and the honour of his attention brings you some worldly comforts, does it not? I hear you have a fine white palfrey and you are well clothed and I noticed he lets you win at cards, something that is quite against his principles. That can be no small supplement to a gentlewoman’s income.’
This news did not please me. I shuddered at the thought of my lovely flower, crushed beneath the body of the king. She was his whore and paid well for her services but there are some comforts a woman could surely do without. I should have moved against him when I’d had the chance. In ridding myself of one rival I had gained a greater one. But, a son … this was news indeed.
I clawed the knowledge away.
The women kissed and parted, the queen returning to the palace leaving Katherine wilting like a lenten lily in the arbour. Slipping from concealment, my heartbeat increased as I approached her. I had never dared to speak to her before. She was weeping quietly. I cleared my throat,
‘Lady?’ I murmured, adopting horrified tones. ‘Are you injured? Can I be of assistance?’
She looked up, a vision of heaven, and fumbled with her kerchief.
‘Allow me, Lady Gordon,’ I said, revelling at the feel of her name on my tongue. ‘I notice your own kerchief is of little use.’
She looked up at me, her blue eyes blurred with tears. My pulse raced, my loins stirred.
‘Thank you, Sir,’ she said, ‘but, you have the advantage of me and I am afraid I do not know your name.’
She wiped her tears on my kerchief. I felt myself blessed.
‘My name, dear lady, is James Strangeways. I am gentleman usher to the king. Forgive me, lady, but I …I knew your husband, Perkin …or Richard, as he was to his friends.’
I was lying. I had been no friend to the pretender but her answering smile was like sunshine, illuminating my world.
Author’s note
Sometime between the last days of Richard III’s reign and Henry the VII’s early years on the throne, the two young sons of Edward IV disappeared. Their names were Edward, Prince of Wales and Richard, Duke of York. The new king put it about that they had been slaughtered by their uncle, the previous king, Richard III. However, during Henry’s reign, a man with many loyal followers claimed to be the younger of those princes. Despite his princely demeanour, detailed knowledge of the court of his father, Edward IV, he was dismissed by Henry as a pretender. He was declared to be the son of a Flemish boatman and, prior to his execution, admitted as much. The family of a felon suffered much less if the accused admitted his guilt.
His wife, the Lady Katherine Gordon, was kept at Henry’s court in ‘honourable confinement.’ She served as lady-in-waiting to Elizabeth of York (the sister of the lost princes) until the queen’s death in 1503. After that she remained at court as Henry’s companion, some say paramour, but there is no evidence of this apart from a few hints at intimacy and grants of land and wealth that she received.
It is not recorded what became of the son that she bore to Perkin Warbeck (or Richard of York) but today the Perkins family, who live on the Gower peninsular in Wales, trace their family tree back to the son of Peter Osbeck of Tournai. This tale, more legend than story, becomes more solid when one considers the end of Katherine’s life.
After Henry’s death in 1509, Katherine married the first of two subsequent husbands. The first, James Strangeways, the narrator of my story, died six years after the wedding and she was then married to Mattthew Craddock, the Earl of Worcester’s deputy in South Wales, who died in 1531. She settled near Swansea, just eight miles from the home of the Perkins family in Reynoldston on the Gower peninsular.
©copyrightJuditharnopp2010
June 7, 2023
New Release from Tony Riches - Tudor Historical Fiction!
Lady Penelope is one of the most beautiful and sought-after women in Elizabethan England. The daughter of the queen's nemesis, Lady Lettice Knollys, Countess of Essex, she becomes the stepdaughter of Robert Dudley when he marries her mother in secret.
Penelope's life is full of love and scandal. The inspiration for Sir Philip Sidney’s sonnet Astrophel and Stella, she is inevitably caught up in her brother Robert's fateful rebellion.
A complex and fascinating woman, her life is a story of love, betrayal, and tragedy. Discover how Penelope charms her way out of serious charges of treason, adultery, and forgery, and becomes one of the last truly great ladies of the Tudor court.
A maid of honour to Queen Elizabeth, Penelope outlives the end of the Tudors with the death of the old queen and the arrival of King James, becoming a favourite lady-in-waiting to the new queen, Anne of Denmark.
“This is the story of a woman who lived life on her own terms, and one that will stay with you long after you finish reading it.”
Links:
Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C78KDRK3
Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0C78KDRK3
Amazon CA: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0C78KDRK3
Amazon AU: https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B0C78KDRK3
Author Bio
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 new 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
tonyriches.com and his blog, The Writing Desk and find him on
Facebook and Twitter@tonyriches
May 31, 2023
The Coffee Pot Blog Tour casts the spotlight on Lucy the Suffragist by Vicky Adin
Book Title: Lucy
Series: The Art of Secrets Series
Author: Vicky Adin
Publication Date: 14 May 2023
Publisher: AM Publishing NZ
Page Length: 327
Genre: Dual-timeline historical fiction
Twitter Handle: @vickyadin @cathiedunn
Instagram Handle: @thecoffeepotbookclub
Hashtags: #dualtimeline #historicalfiction #LucyTheSuffragist #WomensRights #BookBlast #BlogTour #TheCoffeePotBookClub
Lucy
by
Vicky Adin
Emma’s curiosity is piqued by a gutsy young climate change campaigner with an antique trinket box full of women’s rights badges, but tracing their history pushes her to her limit.
Struggling to recover from Covid-19, Emma is terrified of developing a chronic and incurable condition and becoming a burden. She tries to ignore her fears and keeps working. She has clients who rely on her. Paige is a spirited environmentalist whose wealthy father tries to curb her enthusiasm. But she is intent on making her mark on the world in spite of him. Emma is torn between untangling the mysteries of Paige’s legacy or saving herself when exhaustion threatens everything she cares about.
In 1892, twenty-one-year-old Lucy, a dedicated suffragist is determined women shall win the right to vote this time. Since her mother died, she has grown up in the glow of her father’s benevolence. Winning the franchise has become her raison d'être, greater even than her love for Richard. She goes canvassing and is ambushed by a man who undermines her confidence. Conflicted between winning the vote or safeguarding those she loves, she redoubles her campaign efforts. But a moral dilemma puts her future in jeopardy.
A compelling tale of Lucy the suffragist and the courageous women who fought for their right to vote (Book 3 in The Art of Secrets series, dual-timeline sagas about finding your roots).
This title is available to read on #KindleUnlimited.
Universal Link: Amazon UK: Amazon US: Amazon CA: Amazon AU:
Vicky Adin’s passion is writing inter-generational sagas inspired by early immigrant women’s stories in New Zealand, linked by journals, letters, photographs, and heirlooms.
As a genealogist and historian, Vicky has combined her skills to write heart-warming novels weaving family life and history together in a way that makes the past come alive.
Delve into the new dual-timeline series, The Art of Secrets, family sagas about finding your roots… or
Become engrossed in The New Zealand Immigrant Collection, suspenseful family saga fiction uncovering the mysteries, the lies and the challenges of the past.
Vicky Adin holds a MA(Hons) in English and Education. She is an avid reader of historical novels, family sagas and contemporary women’s stories and loves to travel.
Social Media Links:
Website: www.vickyadin.co.nz
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Amazon Author Page: http://amzn.to/2tUG9co
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