Judith Arnopp's Blog, page 2
June 16, 2025
Bess by Tony Riches on The Coffee Pot Book Club Blog Tour
Book Title: Bess – Tudor Gentlewoman
Series: The Elizabethan Series, Book #6
Author Name: Tony Riches
Publication Date: May 2nd , 2025
Publisher: Preseli Press
Pages: 337
Genre: Historical Fiction / Tudor Fiction
Any Triggers: n/a
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Bess – Tudor Gentlewoman
Tony Riches
Bess Throckmorton defies her notorious background and lack of education to become Queen Elizabeth’s Gentlewoman and trusted confidante.
Forced to choose between loyalty and love, duty and desire, will she risk her queen’s anger by marrying adventurer Sir Walter Raleigh without permission?
Entangled in a web of intrigue, from the glittering Palace of Whitehall to the cells of the Tower of London, Bess endures tragedy and injustice, becoming a resilient, determined woman, who takes nothing for granted.
Can she outwit her enemies, protect her family, and claim her destiny in a world where women are pawns and survival is a game of deadly consequences?
This is the true story of the last of the Elizabethans, which ends the story of the Tudor dynasty – and introduces their successors, the Stuarts.
This title is available to read on #KindleUnlimited.
Tony Riches is a full-time UK author of Tudor historical fiction. He lives with his wife in Pembrokeshire, West Wales and is a specialist in the lives of the early Tudors.
As well as his Elizabethan series, Tony’s historical fiction novels include the best-selling Tudor trilogy and his Brandon trilogy, (about Charles Brandon and his wives).
For more information about Tony’s books please visit his website, and his blog, The Writing Desk, and find him on social media.
Website: https://www.tonyriches.com/
Blog: http://tonyriches.blogspot.co.uk/
Twitter / X: https://twitter.com/tonyriches
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tonyriches.author/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tonyriches.author/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/tonyriches.bsky.social
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.co.uk/stores/Tony-Riches/author/B006UZWOXA
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5604088.Tony_Riches
June 13, 2025
Interview with Audio book Narrator Alex Lee.
Today I'd like to do something a bit different and introduce you to the lovely lady who narrates my books for Audible listeners. For once she has stepped away from the microphone and written a lovely piece. Take it away Alex Lee!
Hello, thank you for hosting me on your blog, Judith. It is great to be here.
There is something transporting and magical about bringing stories to life as a voice actor, escaping some of the day to day stresses and worries and settling down – even if it means disappearing into my converted cupboard under the stairs LOL, to sit motionless in front of an ipad and microphone and begin to inhabit the characters in the books you are narrating. Feeling and expressing their thoughts, hopes, loves, fears and intentions is the next best thing to stage acting !!.
Narrating and producing audio books, ticks every creative box for me. Being given the opportunity to add another dimension to an author’s words and plot, giving their cast of characters a range of voices, accents, ages personalities, attitudes and emotions is a huge privilege and a thing I love to do.
I have been lucky to have narrated almost 100 titles across many different genres including, cosy murder mysteries, (currently working on five series) historical fiction, psychological thrillers, romance, literary classics, children’s literature, biographies, adventure, comedy, science fiction and poetry.
I have been so lucky to work with the multi award winning author Judith Arnopp. I auditioned a few years ago now for Judith’s trilogy, The Beaufort Chronicle but missed the boat as when I went to upload the audition the title had disappeared because Judith had found another narrator. How glad I am that I decided to e-mail Judith and send her my audition - asking if I might be a fit for any of her other books. Although I was too late for The Beaufort Chronicle Judith thought my voice would suit Anne Boleyn. I was so thrilled, and went on to record one of my favourite of Judith’s books The Kiss of the Concubine.
I loved narrating this fresh look on Anne and Henry. All Judith’s books have great character development, flowing prose that is a joy to read so that you immerse yourself in the plot. Another great favourite for me was The Winchester Goose and in particular voicing a Tudor tart with a heart, Joannie Toogood. Huge fun.
I also narrated Intractable Heart, the story of Katheryn Parr so I have been very close to most of Henry VIII's queens now and love the atmosphere of the Tudor court she creates where you can almost smell it.
I have recently completed A Daughter of Warwick: the story of Anne Neville who was queen to Richard III. It is extraordinary how we know all about Richard yet next to nothing about Anne. Although Judith worries it is not her best work as she wrote it very early on in her career, I enjoyed it immensely. You can listen to a sample on the audiogram below.
Contacting Judith was serendipitous as it marked the beginning of what is now a great collaboration I have now narrated seven of her wonderful titles. I am hoping that I may get to voice the fierce, furious and fabulous queen, Marguerite of Anjou in her new novel, Marguerite: Hell Hath No Fury! in the future.
Thank you so much for joining us today Alex Lee, our collaboration has opened up a whole new avenue for me as an author.
Here is a link to Alex Lee webpage so you can check out her work with other authors. https://www.alexleeaudio.uk/
You can find my audio books on Audible. If you'd like a FREE listen code for any of the books mentioned, you can approach either Alex or myself, tell us if you need a UK or a US link and we will send one to you.
June 10, 2025
The Coffee Pot Book Club Blog Tour presents: Lady of the Quay by Amanda Roberts
Book Title: Lady of the Quay
Series: Isabella Gillhespy Series, Book #1
Author: Amanda Roberts
Publication Date: May 9th, 2025
Publisher: Hickory Press
Pages: 256
Genre: Historical Mystery / Suspense
Any Triggers: n/a
Tour Schedule Page: https://thecoffeepotbookclub.blogspot.com/2025/05/blog-tour-lady-of-the-quay-by-amanda-roberts.html
Lady of the Quay
(Isabella Gillhespy Series Book 1)
Amanda Roberts
Knowing she is innocent is easy … proving it is hard
1560, Berwick-upon-Tweed, northern England
Following the unexpected death of her father, a series of startling discoveries about the business she inherits forces Isabella Gillhespy to re-evaluate everything she understands about her past and expects from her future.
Facing financial ruin, let down by people on whom she thought she could rely, and suspected of crimes that threaten her freedom, Isabella struggles to prove her innocence.
But the stakes are even higher than she realises. In a town where tension between England and her Scottish neighbours is never far from the surface, it isn’t long before developments attract the interest of the highest authority in the land, Sir William Cecil, and soon Isabella is fighting, not just for her freedom, but her life. She must use her wits and trust her own instincts to survive.
Lady of the Quay introduces an enticing new heroine who refuses to be beaten, even as it becomes clear that her life will never be the same again.
From the author of the award-winning ‘The Woman in the Painting’.
Universal Buy Link: https://books2read.com/u/317rQa
This title is available to read on #KindleUnlimited.
Read a snippet from Lady of the Quay
‘You knew my father well. What did you know of his dealings with Mr Young?’ I twisted my head from the glass so I could watch Will’s reaction. He looked at me with a quizzical expression.
‘They were associates, rivals even. Both burgesses. Common interests. What’s this about? You know this as well as I do. Beyond that though, your father did not confide in me. Why would he?’
Will leaned towards me. In the confined space of the window seat we were almost touching. His proximity was intoxicating; his musky smell mingling with the crisp freshness of the outdoor air that clung to his hair and his skin. I stood up and moved towards the warmth of the fire. At once, the freshness was replaced with the bitter tang of smoke. When I turned to face him he was still sitting in the window seat, watching me. He appeared thoughtful, and his shoulders were hunched.
‘What is it Izzy? Let me help you.’
‘You can help me by telling me what you know.’
***
Amanda Roberts has worked as an Editor in business-to-business magazines for over 30 years, specialising in out-of-home coffee, vending and foodservice/catering, including Editor of the global gastronomy title: ‘Revue internationale de la Chaîne des Rôtisseurs’.
She currently freelances, editing UK-based healthcare titles – HEFMA Pulse, Hospital Food + Service and Hospital Caterer. She is a member of the Society of Authors, the Historical Novel Society and West Oxfordshire Writers. She also volunteers for Tea Books (part of Age UK) to run a book club/reading group for elderly people in the community.
Website: https://amandarobertsauthor.co.uk/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100095191090333
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amanda_roberts_author/
Book Bub: https://www.bookbub.com/books/lady-of-the-quay-isabella-gillhespy-series-book-1-by-amanda-roberts
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Amanda-Roberts/author/B00N0RQBAI
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/231816264-lady-of-the-quay
June 9, 2025
The Coffee Pot Book Club Blog Tour presents: Nothing Proved by Janet Wertman
Book Title: Nothing Proved
Series: Regina
Author: Janet Wertman
Publication Date: May 19, 2025
Publisher: Janet Wertman
Pages: 376
Genre: Historical Fiction
Tour Schedule Page: https://thecoffeepotbookclub.blogspot.com/2025/04/blog-tour-nothing-proved-by-janet-wertman.html
Nothing Proved
by
Janet Wertman
Danger lined her path, but destiny led her to glory…
Elizabeth Tudor learned resilience young. Declared illegitimate after the execution of her mother Anne Boleyn, she bore her precarious position with unshakable grace. But upon the death of her father, King Henry VIII, the vulnerable fourteen-year-old must learn to navigate a world of shifting loyalties, power plays, and betrayal.
After narrowly escaping entanglement in Thomas Seymour’s treason, Elizabeth rebuilds her reputation as the perfect Protestant princess – which puts her in mortal danger when her half-sister Mary becomes Queen and imposes Catholicism on a reluctant land. Elizabeth escapes execution, clawing her way from a Tower cell to exoneration. But even a semblance of favor comes with attempts to exclude her from the throne or steal her rights to it through a forced marriage.
Elizabeth must outwit her enemies time and again to prove herself worthy of power. The making of one of history’s most iconic monarchs is a gripping tale of survival, fortune, and triumph.
Universal Buy Link: https://books2read.com/u/bM8Vrk
Barnes & Noble:
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/nothing-proved-janet-wertman/1146831389
Kobo:
https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/nothing-proved
Apple:
https://books.apple.com/us/book/nothing-proved/id6740549129
By day, Janet Wertman is a freelance grantwriter for impactful nonprofits. By night, she writes critically acclaimed, character-driven historical fiction – indulging a passion for the Tudor era she had harbored since she was eight years old and her parents let her stay up late to watch The Six Wives of Henry VIII and Elizabeth R.
Her Seymour Saga trilogy (Jane the Quene, The Path to Somerset, The Boy King) took her deep into one of the era’s central families – and now her follow-up Regina series explores Elizabeth’s journey from bastard to icon.
Janet also runs a blog (www.janetwertman.com) where she posts interesting takes on the Tudors and what it’s like to write about them.
Website: https://janetwertman.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/janetwertmanauthor/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/janet-ambrosi-wertman-b5531aa/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/janetwertman/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/janetwertman.bsky.social
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/janetwertman
Book Bub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/janet-wertman
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Janet-Wertman/author/B01CUSMWFA
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2028387.Janet_Ambrosi_Wertman
June 8, 2025
Delighted to host Last Train to Freedom by Deborah Swift for the Coffee Pot Book Club Blog Tour
Book Title: Last Train to Freedom
Series: n/a
Author: Deborah Swift
Publication Date: 8th May 2025
Publisher: HQDigital
Pages: 361
Genre: Historical Fiction
Any Triggers: WW2, so mild violence
Tour Schedule Page: https://thecoffeepotbookclub.blogspot.com/2025/04/blog-tour-last-train-to-freedom-by-deborah-swift.html
Last Train to Freedom
by Deborah Swift
'Taut, compelling and beautifully written – I loved it!’ ~ DAISY WOOD
'Tense and thought-provoking' ~ CATHERINE LAW
1940. As Soviet forces storm Lithuania, Zofia and her brother Jacek must flee to survive.
A lifeline appears when Japanese consul Sugihara offers them visas on one condition: they must deliver a parcel to Tokyo. Inside lies intelligence on Nazi atrocities, evidence so explosive that Nazi and Soviet agents will stop at nothing to possess it.
Pursued across Siberia on the Trans-Siberian Express, Zofia faces danger at every turn, racing to expose the truth as Japan edges closer to allying with the Nazis. With the fate of countless lives hanging in the balance, can she complete her mission before time runs out?
‘Such an interesting and original book…. Informative, full of suspense and thrills.’
~ Netgalley Review
An Excerpt from Last Train to Freedom
Deborah Swift
Otto massaged his chest to try to relieve the tension. For more than a year he had done daily battle with the diplomatic mail in the quiet hush of this office. He’d watched spies and diplomats from every country come and go, and all had been received by Sugihara with a polite smile.
He suspected the time for smiling was over.
Sugihara’s diplomatic immunity would cease. Where would he, Otto, go then? He had a doctorate in East Asian languages and civilizations from Harvard but, still, this was his home. And if they had to move, what could he do about his mother? She wouldn’t want to leave. She barely went out of the front door now as it was.
He tidied the pens on his desk back into their pots, stacked his papers into a neat pile again, aware he was procrastinating. How he loved the painting above his desk! The vista of misty sky with a lone tiny figure set against milky half-hidden mountains. He liked the row of minute jade netsuke precisely arranged on the shelf above his desk, the little fox curled around its own tail, the jade frog, the little waterlily that opened to reveal a dragonfly, each one perfect, the size of a single typewriter key.
His eyes grew wet. It seemed strange to carry on as normal when it was all about to end. No, that would never do. He swallowed and stood up, turning to where Sugihara had returned to his desk to ask him if it was okay for him to go home.
Sugihara looked up at the scrape of Otto’s chair and gave him a nod. It was the same routine every day, and Otto was used to his employer’s manner of dismissal. Automatically, he shrugged on his jacket, despite the suffocating temperature, and headed for the door.
Voices beyond the window made him pause to look out and he stopped, a frown on his face. ‘What’s going on outside?’ he asked.
Sugihara came to stand beside him. Below the window a restless queue had formed, despite the late afternoon heat. A crowd dressed for winter, all with anxious faces, shuffling from foot to foot in the wash of low sun. Some carried luggage with them, and one old woman, her head bowed under a scarf, was sitting on her bags, obviously intent on being there for some time.
Sugihara’s eyes remained fixed on them. Without turning he said, ‘Would you mind going out there and asking them who they’re waiting for?’
Otto wasn’t keen on tackling this disturbance, but he could hardly refuse. His leather heels tapped briskly on the stairs as he descended and creaked open the wrought-iron gate at the front of the consulate. At his arrival, the crowd clustered like flies, but Otto closed the gate again and stayed firmly on his side of the barrier. The number of people made him uneasy, and he guessed they must be Jewish because one of the elderly men had the long sideburns, and most were talking in Yiddish. Jews were nothing new in Kaunas, about a quarter of the city’s total population was Jewish and they ran many of the city’s businesses with good-natured efficiency.
‘What is it? What do you want?’ Sweat formed around his collar.
Several men tried to answer all at once and he couldn’t make out what they were saying. Many seemed to be Poles or from other parts whose languages he couldn’t immediately grasp.
‘Slowly!’ he shouted. ‘One at a time.’
‘The Japanese consul is our last hope,’ yelled a wiry youth, gripping on to the metal railings.
‘We want the ambassador to issue transit visas to get us out of Lithuania.’ This older man was clearer and his Lithuanian better. The word ‘visas’ echoed through the crowd.
Otto held up a hand for quiet. ‘Why? What makes you think we can help?’
‘There’s a route to an island – Curaçao, somewhere in the Indies. A Dutch colony.’
It was a name he’d never heard of.
His blank look brought another tumble of words: ‘Vladivostok.’ ‘Shanghai.’ ‘Trans-Siberian Railway.’
‘We can pay,’ shouted a well-dressed woman in a dusty hat, two small children clamped to her skirts. ‘Please. We have to get out, or the Germans will kill us.’
Otto blinked. The Germans. Surely it was the Russians who were the problem right now. A burst of outrage in his chest at the insult to his father and his country of birth. ‘I don’t think we can help.’ He turned to go back inside but caught a glimpse of two men trying to climb, monkey-like, over the fence, and others pulling them back. If he didn’t do something, the whole building might be overwhelmed.
‘All right,’ he said, shouting over the hubbub in Lithuanian. ‘All right! Choose people to represent you. No more than five. Tomorrow five of you can have an appointment with Mr Sugihara to make your request. But only if the rest of you go away immediately.’
‘If we go, more will come,’ the young lad said morosely. ‘And we’ll lose our place in the queue. There are thousands on the way here.’
Thousands coming to queue. For what? Otto felt himself waver. He tried a shooing gesture with his hands. ‘Move away from the fence!’
Nobody moved. They remained stubbornly where they were.
‘We won’t move until we’ve spoken to the consul.’ This man in the grimy yellow cravat had steel in his eyes, and a belligerent tone. Otto took a step back. He felt like an exhibit in a zoo with all these people staring in. He was reluctant to turn his back on them in case they swarmed over, but he mustered his dignity, braced himself, and returned upstairs.
Sugihara was still at the window, calmly looking out, one finger holding open the blind. ‘They look tired, these people.’
‘From what I can make out, they’ve heard we can issue visas to get them through Russia to Japan. They’re fleeing the German army.’
Universal Buy Link: http://mybook.to/TransSiberian
Deborah Swift is the English author of twenty historical novels, including Millennium Award winner Past Encounters, and The Poison Keeper the novel based around the life of the legendary poisoner Giulia Tofana. The Poison Keeper won the Wishing Shelf Readers Award for Book of the Decade. Recently she has completed a secret agent series set in WW2, the first in the series being The Silk Code.Deborah used to work as a set and costume designer for theatre and TV and enjoys the research aspect of creating historical fiction, something she loved doing as a scenographer. She likes to write about extraordinary characters set against a background of real historical events. Deborah lives in England on the edge of the Lake District, an area made famous by the Romantic Poets such as Wordsworth and Coleridge.
Website: www.deborahswift.com
Twitter https://twitter.com/swiftstory
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authordeborahswift/
Pinterest https://www.pinterest.co.uk/deborahswift1/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/deborahswift.bsky.social
Book Bub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/deborah-swift
Amazon Author Page: http://author.to/DeborahSwift
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/deborahswiftauthor/
May 16, 2025
The Coffee Pot Book Club is pleased to introduce Falling Pomegranate Seeds Duology by Wendy J. Dunn
Book Title: Falling Pomegranate Seeds: The Katherine of Aragon Story
Series: Omnibus Edition
Author: Wendy J. Dunn
Publication Date: February 28th, 2025
Publisher: Poesy Quill
Pages: 1030 pages
Genre: Historical Fiction / Tudor Fiction
Any Triggers: This is a story for adults, with adult themes and situations.
Tour Schedule Page: https://thecoffeepotbookclub.blogspot.com/2025/04/blog-tour-falling-pomegranate-seeds-duology-by-wendy-j-dunn.html
Falling Pomegranate Seeds: The Katherine of Aragon Story
Wendy J. Dunn
In the Falling Pomegranate Seeds Duology, readers are transported to the rich historical tapestry of 15th and 16th-century Europe, where the lives of remarkable women unfold against the backdrop of political upheaval and personal struggles.
In the first book, beginning in 1490 Castile, Doña Beatriz Galindo, a passionate and respected scholar, serves as an advisor to Queen Isabel of Castile. Beatriz yearns for a life beyond the constraints imposed on women, desiring to control her own destiny. As she witnesses the Holy War led by Queen Isabel and her husband, King Ferdinand of Aragon, Beatriz dedicates herself to guiding Queen Isabel's youngest child, Catalina of Aragon, on her own path. Beatriz's role as a tutor and advisor becomes instrumental in shaping Catalina's future as she prepares to become England's queen.
Fast forward to the winter of 1539 in the second book, where María de Salinas, a dear friend and cousin of Catalina (now known as Katherine of Aragon), pens a heartfelt letter to her daughter, the Duchess of Suffolk. Unable to make the journey from her London home due to illness, María shares her life story, intricately woven with her experiences alongside Catalina. Their friendship has endured through exile and tumultuous times. María seeks to shed light for her daughter on the choices she has made in a story exploring themes of friendship, betrayal, hatred, and forgiveness. Through María's narrative, the eternal question Will love ultimately triumph?
Read a Snippet
Maríagiggled at Catalina’s sour expression as she sat for breakfast. On the tablewas a dish of grey mass lumped into a bowl. Catalina pushed aside the bowl,reaching for the fresh white bread and hard cheese. She nibbled at these, pickedup a goblet and sipped the beer.
“Theycannot expect me to drink this,” Catalina said, pushing the goblet aside too.
Maríachuckled again. On one of their first days in England, Catalina had turned toher when first tasting this English brew, whispering for her ears alone: “Thisis the sponge of ice and vinegar given to our Lord.”
Gulpingback another bubble of laughter, she swilled down a mouthful from the rejectedgoblet. “I’m becoming accustomed to it. It is different from what we are usedto at home, but I do not mind it.”
Catalinapushed her bowl towards her in answer. “If you like English beer, taste thisthen.”
Maríapicked up the bowl, sniffed, and put it down again. “Even for the love of you,I will not eat this. It may be that English dish of sheep brains Doña Elviratold us about.”
FromAll Manner of Things
https://books2read.com/u/bax5n6
***
Wendy J. Dunn is an award-winning Australian writer fascinated by Tudor history – so much so she was not surprised to discover a family connection to the Tudors, not long after the publication of her first Anne Boleyn novel, which narrated the Anne Boleyn story through the eyes of Sir Thomas Wyatt, the elder. Her family tree reveals the intriguing fact that one of her ancestral families – possibly over three generations – had purchased land from both the Boleyn and Wyatt families to build up their own holdings. It seems very likely Wendy’s ancestors knew the Wyatts and Boleyns personally.
Website: www.wendyjdunn.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorwendyjdunn
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wendyjdunnauthor/
Threads: https://www.threads.net/@wendyjdunnauthor
Book Bub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/wendy-j-dunn
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B004FRTZFA
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/197156.Wendy_J_Dunn
May 13, 2025
The Coffee Pot Book Club is happy to host Apollo's Raven – Audiobook – by Linnea Tanner
Audiobook Title: Apollo’s Raven
Series: Curse of Clansmen Kings
Author: Linnea Tanner
Narrator: Kristin James
Publication Date: May 24, 2017 (Audiobook Publication)
Publisher: Apollo Raven Publisher, LLC
Listening Length: 11 hours and 56 minutes
Genre: Historical Fantasy, Historical Romantasy, Myth & Legend
Tour Schedule Page: https://thecoffeepotbookclub.blogspot.com/2025/04/blog-tour-apollos-raven-audiobook-by-linnea-tanner.html
Apollo’s Raven (Curse of Clansmen and Kings, Book 1)
Author Name: Linnea Tanner
Audiobook Narrator: Kristin James
A Celtic warrior princess is torn between her forbidden love for the enemy and duty to her people.
AWARD-WINNING APOLLO'S RAVEN sweeps you into an epic Celtic tale of forbidden love, mythological adventure, and political intrigue in Ancient Rome and Britannia. In 24 AD British kings hand-picked by Rome to rule are fighting each other for power. King Amren's former queen, a powerful Druid, has cast a curse that Blood Wolf and the Raven will rise and destroy him.
The king's daughter, Catrin, learns to her dismay that she is the Raven and that her banished half-brother is Blood Wolf. Trained as a warrior, Catrin must find a way to break the curse, but she is torn between her forbidden love for her father's enemy, Marcellus, and loyalty to her people. She must summon the magic of the Ancient Druids to alter the dark prophecy that threatens the fates of everyone in her kingdom.
Will Catrin overcome and eradicate the ancient curse? Will she be able to embrace her forbidden love for Marcellus? Will she cease the war between Blood Wolf and King Amren and save her kingdom?
Book Trailer on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqSdT5wK4aI
https://soundcloud.com/user-713878612/chapter-51-betrayal
" Many surprising twists enrich the historically drawn plot. Points of view shift between different characters effectively, heightening the tension from one moment to the next." ~ Historical Novel Society Review
Universal Buy Link for Apollo’s Raven: https://books2read.com/Apollos-Raven
Audible US: https://www.audible.com/pd/Apollos-Raven-Livre-Audio/B072C2NK8H
Audible UK: https://www.audible.co.uk/pd/Apollos-Raven-Livre-Audio/B072C2NK8H
*AUDIOBOOK GIVEAWAY – UK Only*
Linnea Tanner is giving away an audiobook copy of Apollo’s Raven to listeners in the UK. Visit the blog tour page and leave a comment to enter the giveaway: https://thecoffeepotbookclub.blogspot.com/2025/04/blog-tour-apollos-raven-audiobook-by-linnea-tanner.html A winner will be chosen at random and announced after the tour has finished.
Award-winning author, Linnea Tanner, weaves Celtic tales of love, magical adventure, and political intrigue in Ancient Rome and Britannia. Since childhood, she has passionately read about ancient civilizations and mythology. She is particularly interested in the enigmatic Celts, who were reputed as fierce warriors and mystical Druids.
Linnea has extensively researched ancient and medieval history, mythology, and archaeology and has traveled to sites described within each of her books in the Curse of Clansmen and Kings series. Books released in her series include Apollo’s Raven (Book 1), Dagger’s Destiny (Book 2), Amulet’s Rapture (Book 3), and Skull’s Vengeance (Book 4). She has also released the historical fiction short story Two Faces of Janus.
A Colorado native, Linnea attended the University of Colorado and earned both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in chemistry. She lives in Fort Collins with her husband and has two children and six grandchildren.
Website: https://www.linneatanner.com/
Twitter/X: https://x.com/linneatanner
BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/linneatanner.bsky.social
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LinneaTannerAuthor
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/linnea-tanner-a021932b/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/linneatanner/
Threads: https://www.threads.net/@linneatanner
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/linneatanner/_created/
Book Bub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/linnea-tanner
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Linnea-Tanner/e/B01N6YEM04
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/16474282.Linnea_Tanner
May 2, 2025
Tony Riches on the subject of his new book, BESS
Tony Riches on the subject of his new book, BESS
Bess Throckmorton, the queen’s gentlewoman, catches the eye of the captain of the queen’s guard, adventurer Sir Walter Raleigh, and has to choose between loyalty and love, duty and desire. Can she risk her queen’s anger by marrying without permission?
Like most Elizabethan women, her education was limited to what she might need to run a household. Her children’s tutors helped her to improve her writing, but I was impressed at how her phonetic spelling didn’t stop Bess writing to the most powerful men at court, such as Secretary of State of England and Lord High Treasurer, Sir Robert Cecil.
I always like to have a sense of the ‘voice’ of a character when writing historical fiction, and to imagine what might be on her mind as Bess struggles to protect her family in a dangerous world. I was able to track down several of her actual letters, and used the original text in italics, as in this short excerpt:
Taking a fresh sheet of parchment, Bess dips her pen in the black ink and begins to write. Ignoring what Walter told her, she thanks Robert Cecil for his help and support.
Sur Walter’s remembranse of me to you at his last deeparting shall add and increese if it wer possibl more love and dew respect to him.
Bess stops to read back her words, regretting her poor spelling, and undecided whether she should travel to see Robert Cecil, to appeal to him in person. She has spent long enough away from her son and from Sherborne. She will have Alexander Brett deliver her letter.
A Devon man, and distant cousin, Alexander Brett is bright and capable, taking over the work started by Adrian Gilbert to improve the supply of fresh water to Sherborne. Keen to better himself, he will relish the challenge of meeting such an important man as Sir Robert Cecil.
He is one of the few unmarried men at Sherborne, and Bess is flattered by how Brett flirts with her. The twinkle in his eye when he makes her laugh reminds her of Walter before they married. She suspects Alexander Brett admires her, and tries not to think of what could happen if Walter never returns. She frowns as she dips her pen back in the ink and continues.
Sur I am in hope ere it be long to hear of Sur Walter, thow not of long time to see him, being for a time thus disevered from him as I am.
She waits for the ink to dry in the spring sunshine streaming through her window, satisfied this is enough of a preamble. Bess doubts Robert Cecil will be familiar with the debt owed by Henry Huntingdon, but hopes he will realise the seriousness if she threatens to go to law.
I must entreet your favourable word to my Lord Keeper. I desire no favour, only suferance. The bearer of this leter can tell you the matter. I choose this time to follow it in Sur Walter’s absents, that myself shall beare the unkindness, and not he, the money being long time past due to me.
Once the ink is dry, she folds the letter. One way or another, Henry Huntingdon will become aware that she will not forget the money he owes her. With luck, Robert Cecil will find some quiet way to avoid the matter going to law. Bess smiles as she presses her signet ring into the hot red wax. She has rolled the dice, and has little to lose.
BESS – Tudor Gentlewoman is available from Amazon in eBook and Paperback:
🇬🇧 https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0D46XQP59
🇺🇸 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D46XQP59
Tony Riches is a full-time UK author of best-selling Tudor historical fiction. He lives in Pembrokeshire, West Wales and is a specialist in the history of the Wars of the Roses and the lives of the Tudors.
For more information about Tony’s books please visit his website tonyriches.com and his blog, The Writing Desk and find him on Facebook, Twitter and Bluesky (see links below).
You can find out more about his research on his popular podcast series, ‘Stories of the Tudors’
Website: https://www.tonyriches.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/tonyriches
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/tonyriches.bsky.social
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tonyriches.author/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tonyriches/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tonyriches.author/
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Tony-Riches/e/B006UZWOXA
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5604088.Tony_Riches
April 28, 2025
Check out The Finding by Jane Hunt #BookBlast at The Coffee Pot Book Club
Book Title: The Finding
Series: n/a
Author: Jane Hunt
Publication Date: January 7th, 2025
Publisher: Historium Press
Pages: 85
Genre: Historical Fiction
Any Triggers: No
Tour Schedule Page: https://thecoffeepotbookclub.blogspot.com/2025/02/blog-tour-the-finding-by-jane-hunt.html
The Finding
by Jane Hunt
This poignant novella is a tale of forbidden love, resilience, and the human cost of war.
In the quiet fields of Wiltshire during World War II, Eveline, a sheltered young woman, stumbles upon a life-altering discovery: a German Luftwaffe pilot, Fritz, has crash-landed near her home. Against the backdrop of war and suspicion, her family takes the injured man in, nursing him back to health. Beneath his reserved demeanor and burned body, Eveline senses a mystery—and something stirs an unfamiliar longing within her.
As Eveline’s infatuation deepens, she faces a storm of challenges: her overbearing mother’s rigid rules, a zealous preacher’s warnings, and the scrutiny of the town’s gossips. Despite Fritz’s attempts to keep her at arm’s length Eveline’s heart defies reason, falling for the man branded as her enemy.
But Fritz harbors secrets that could shatter Eveline’s fragile world. When the truths of war and the weight of loyalty collide, Eveline must confront the reality of loving someone forbidden.
Will their bond endure the hostility of a nation at war? Or will the scars of betrayal and loss prove impossible to heal?
Universal Buy Link: https://books2read.com/u/3JAedg
Born in Reading UK, Jane grew up with a love of reading. She remembers taking Enid Blyton books to bed and reading them under the covers when she should have been asleep! Her love of the written word extended into the classroom where the teachers commented on her vivid imagination and length of stories—probably accompanied with a few sights when they realized the amount of time the reading would take!
On leaving school Jane spent a brief spell at college before finding employment as a Dental Nurse where she spent many happy years meeting lots of wonderful people and mixing lots of fillings. After meeting her husband, she later went on to have three children and found work as a Teaching Assistant.
Alongside a busy life, she completed a comprehensive writing course, which saw her having non-fiction work published in newspapers and magazines. But the desire to do something ‘creative’ burned ever brightly. Having recently undertaken a lot of research into her family tree, a desire to find out what life was really like for her ancestors took hold, and she developed a fascination with World War II. Heeding the advice of her late parents to ‘put pen to paper’, she decided to get a story that had been buzzing in her head for quit some time written.
The result of her endeavour was a very ‘raw’ manuscript: The Finding. With some professional help—thank you, Dee, the story evolved into a book—something she still can’t quite believe!
Publisher’s Author Page: https://www.historiumpress.com/jane-hunt
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Jane-Hunt/author/B0DRJ7KNHK
April 23, 2025
The Coffee Pot Book Club Blog Tour presents: Sister Rosa's Rebellion by Carolyn Hughes
Book Title: Sister Rosa’s Rebellion, The Sixth Meonbridge Chronicle
Series: The Meonbridge Chronicles
Author: Carolyn Hughes
Publication Date: 4th April 2025
Publisher: Riverdown Books
Pages: 446
Genre: Historical Fiction
Any Triggers: n/a
Tour Schedule Page: https://thecoffeepotbookclub.blogspot.com/2025/03/blog-tour-sister-rosas-rebellion-by-carolyn-hughes.html
Sister Rosa's Rebellion
The Sixth Meonbridge Chronicle
Carolyn Hughes
How can you rescue what you hold most dear, when to do so you must break your vows?
1363. When Mother Angelica, the old prioress at Northwick Priory, dies, many of the nuns presume Sister Rosa – formerly Johanna de Bohun, of Meonbridge – will take her place. But Sister Evangelina, Angelica’s niece, believes the position is hers by right, and one way or another she will ensure it is.
Rosa stands aside to avoid unseemly conflict, but is devastated when she sees how the new prioress is changing Northwick: from a place of humility and peace to one of indulgence and amusement, if only for the prioress and her favoured few. Rosa is terrified her beloved priory will be brought to ruin under Evangelina’s profligate and rapacious rule, but her vows of obedience make it impossible to rebel.
Meanwhile, in Meonbridge, John atte Wode, the bailiff, is also distraught by the happenings at Northwick. After years of advising the former prioress and Rosa on the management of their estates, Evangelina dismissed him, banning him from visiting Northwick again.
Yet, only months ago, he met Anabella, a young widow who fled to Northwick to escape her in-laws’ demands and threats, but is a reluctant novice nun. The attraction between John and Anabella was immediate and he hoped to encourage her to give up the priory and become his wife. But how can he possibly do that now?
Can John rescue his beloved Anabella from a future he is certain she no longer wants? And can Rosa overcome her scruples, rebel against Evangelina’s hateful regime, and return Northwick to the haven it once was?
Read and Excerpt from the Prologue
‘Yet, as I understand it,’ he said, ‘elections have always gone in favour of the Godeffroy, regardless of the other candidate…’
Eva tilted her head. ‘Some sort of bribery, you mean?’
‘I have always presumed so. And I have also presumed it was the bishop’s man – our cousin
Nicholas’s predecessors – who arranged it, though I don’t know. But I’m sure Nicholas would help you in that way, if you asked him.’
‘Even if he did, I’m not convinced it would work this time. Rosa’s so very much admired, I’m sure most of the sisters would refuse any inducement to vote against her.’
‘So, what are you going to do about her? Arrange a fatal accident?’ He snorted.
Eva clicked her tongue again. ‘Don’t be such a fool, Edgar. But I do want to stop her standing, or make her seem less suitable than she is.’
‘And you have a plan for doing that?’
‘I do.’
She told him about the Rosa who first came to Northwick, evidently quite a different girl from the woman she was now. She recalled how the young Rosa – then only seventeen – spent hours of her time upon her knees in the chapel, and at her bedside, pleading constantly for forgiveness.
‘You pried upon her private and piteous entreaties?’ said Edgar, raising his eyebrows.
Eva shrugged, but ignored the question. ‘Did you know she wanted to call herself “Dolorosa”? What a ridiculous, self-indulgent name! “I want to spend my life atoning for my sins!”’––she affected a supposedly girlish voice––‘That’s what she said to the prioress.’
‘You heard her say that?’
‘Well, no. One of the older nuns overheard their conversation in the cloister…’
Edgar guffawed. ‘You holy women! So quick to pry and tittle-tattle…’
Eva scowled but did not respond. ‘Anyway, our aunt persuaded her to choose “Rosa” instead.’
‘So what had made little Rosa so very sorrowful?’
‘From what I heard, she imagined she’d committed some appalling sin, one so heinous she was consumed by remorse and shame. Though what exactly the sin was, I never learned.’
He gave a small shrug. ‘Very occasionally in her confession, Rosa has referred to some transgression she committed as a girl, but she has never elaborated––’
‘Ha! I knew it. A guilty secret… Anyway, I’m thinking, if I hint to her that I know of her secret and will expose it if she doesn’t do as I demand, she’ll decide not to stand in the election…’
‘I suppose she might withdraw, but the Sister Rosa I think I know is surely made of sterner stuff.’
He stroked his chin, the stubble of the day rough and rasping against his fingertips. Evangelina might imagine Rosa would succumb readily to her threats, but he was not so sure. Moreover, Rosa would make an excellent prioress, very much in the mould of Aunt Angelica.
Whilst his sister, well, the same could not be said of her. In fact, he suspected Eva would make a terrible prioress. He was certain she never had a vocation for the religious life, any more than he did, and she was loved by no one in the priory. It did not bode well for her success. However, she was his sister – well his half-sister, but family nonetheless – and it was his duty to support her, even if it was against his better judgement…
Universal Buy Link: https://books2read.com/u/bWaYM0
This title is available to read on #KindleUnlimited.
CAROLYN HUGHES has lived much of her life in Hampshire. With a first degree in Classics and English, she started working life as a computer programmer, then a very new profession. But it was technical authoring that later proved her vocation, word-smithing for many different clients, including banks, an international hotel group and medical instruments manufacturers.
Although she wrote creatively on and off for most of her adult life, it was not until her children flew the nest that writing historical fiction took centre stage. But why historical fiction? Serendipity!
Seeking inspiration for what to write for her Creative Writing Masters, she discovered the handwritten draft, begun in her twenties, of a novel, set in 14th century rural England… Intrigued by the period and setting, she realised that, by writing a novel set in the period, she could learn more about the medieval past and interpret it, which seemed like a thrilling thing to do. A few days later, the first Meonbridge Chronicle, Fortune’s Wheel, was under way.
Seven published books later (with more to come), Carolyn does now think of herself as an Historical Novelist. And she wouldn’t have it any other way…
Author Links:
Website: https://carolynhughesauthor.com
Twitter: www.x.com/writingcalliope
Facebook: www.facebook.com/CarolynHughesAuthor
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/carolynhughes.bsky.social
Book Bub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/carolyn-hughes
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.co.uk/stores/Carolyn-Hughes/author/B01MG5TWH1
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/16048212.Carolyn_Hughes
