Posts Tagged ‘historical’

My Review ~ The Star And The Strange Moon by Constance Sayers

Posted: January 12, 2024 in Fantasy, Historical, horror, reviews
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TheStarandTheStrangeMoon copy

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We are thrilled to share The Star and the Strange Moon this week. Read on for more details and my review!

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The Star and the Strange Moon

Publication Date: November 2023

Genre: Historical Fantasy

From the author of A Witch in Time comes a haunting tale of ambition, obsession, and the eternal mystery and magic of film.

A vanished star. A haunted film. A mystery only love can unravel…

1968: Gemma Turner once dreamed of stardom. Now the actress is on the cusp of obscurity. When she’s offered the lead in a radical new horror film, Gemma believes her luck has changed—but her dream is about to turn into a nightmare. One night, between the shadows of an alleyway, Gemma disappears on set and is never seen again. Yet, Gemma is alive. She’s been pulled into the film. And the script—and the monsters within it—are coming to life. Gemma must play her role perfectly if she hopes to survive.

2007: Gemma Turner’s disappearance is one of Hollywood’s greatest mysteries—one that’s captivated film student Christopher Kent ever since he saw L’Étrange Lune for the first time. The screenings only happen once a decade and each time there is new, impossible footage of Gemma that shouldn’t exist. Curiosity drives Christopher to unravel the truth. But answers to the film’s mystery may leave him trapped by it forever.

Get it Here!

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MY REVIEW

There’s been many a time when I sat down to read a book and didn’t look up until I finished it. Even ones as long as this one at almost 500 pages. I did have to stop reading it at one point to run an errand and quickly picked it back up when I returned. I was hooked. So hooked.

The synopsis was so intriguing. An actress, Gemma Turner, vanished during the filming of a movie in 1968. Flash forward to 2007 and film student, Christopher Kent, obsessed with finding out what happened to her after the simple act of seeing her picture on a wall drove his mother over the edge to insanity. And a secret screening of Gemma’s last acting role in L’Etrange Lune that takes place once every 10 years. Yes, it intrigued me.

As you can guess, the story jumps back and forth in time. First I’d be immersed in Gemma’s life and then I’d be immersed in what happened when she vanished and then I’d be immersed in Christopher’s present life and then his past.  That’s how this story was told and each time the story jumped to another character and time I’d be anxious to return. And that happened EVERY time with each era and character I was reading. And that’s why I couldn’t put it down. That and the fact the many character’s were so interesting, so genuine, flaws and all. Especially Gemma and Christopher. The author wrote her words and breathed life into them. I cared what happened. Felt their sorrow, their angst. How could I not.

In the hours I spent reading The Star And The Strange Moon I felt like I was transported into a fantasy world, a tragedy, a horror story…… a love story. What a fabulous feeling it was.

5 STARS

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About the Author

Constance Sayers headshotTSSM

Constance Sayers is the author of two best-selling novels: A Witch in Time (Hachette, 2020) and The Ladies of the Secret Circus (Hachette, 2021), the latter receiving both a Publishers Weekly and Library Journal starred reviews. Her work has been translated into six languages and her third novel, The Star and the Strange Moon will be published by Hachette on 11.14.23. She is a member of the Historical Novel Society, and her short fiction has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net.

She received an MA in English from George Mason University and a B.A. in Writing from the University of Pittsburgh. She lives outside of Washington D.C.

Constance Sayers

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Note From The Author And Giveaway ~ The Buffalo Butcher by Robert Brighton

Posted: January 8, 2024 in giveaways, Historical
Tags: ,
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The Buffalo Butcher: Jack the Ripper in the Electric City
Robert Brighton

 

Publication date: October 8th 2023
Genres: Adult, Historical

Has Jack the Ripper returned?

Summer 1901, and the great Pan-American Exposition welcomes the world to Buffalo, New York—Queen of the Lakes . . . the Electric City. Eight million visitors throng the bustling boomtown—all of them looking for a good time.

While the Pan-American blazes bright, in its shadow lies a zone of darker pleasures: the Tenderloin District, a rabbit’s warren of saloons, brothels, and ask-no-questions hotels. In this sprawling vice quarter, fully as large as the Exposition itself, fairgoers can indulge their less innocent appetites.

As heat and swarming crowds choke the city, the bodies of prostitutes begin turning up, slashed and mutilated by a pitiless hand—their flesh carved with strange symbols. Their gruesome murders are a final indignity worked on once-hopeful young women.

Some say the killings are the work of the Devil himself. Others hint that the Whitechapel Murderer, Jack the Ripper, has crossed the Atlantic to resume his bloody career. Yet the city’s power brokers—afraid of any publicity that would harm the Exposition—turn a blind eye to the victims.

As the bloody summer wears on, only one thing is clear: it’ll be up to the working girls themselves to stop the carnage. And in The Buffalo Butcher, five of them will stand together to confront the killer . . . and to reclaim their humanity.

An important new novel by Robert Brighton, acclaimed author of the Avenging Angel Detective Agency™ Mysteries.

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble

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A NOTE TO THE READER:

From Author Robert Brighton…

Those of you who have read some, or all, of my Avenging Angel Detective Agency Mysteries will find this book both a departure and a return.

As a departure, the Avenging Angel Detective Agency doesn’t figure in this book. But as a return, we travel back to 1901, and again (as we did all too briefly in The Unsealing) make a visit to Buffalo’s historical high point—the Pan-American Exposition.

Since The Buffalo Butcher is an off-series book—distinct from the Avenging Angel Detective Agency™ Mysteries—so you’ll find in it all new characters and the horrifying notion that in 1901, thirteen years after concluding his bloody career in London—Jack the Ripper comes to the Pan-American Exposition and begins killing prostitutes. But there’s a lot more to the story.

Eight million people—about one in nine Americans—came to Buffalo, New York, to see the “Pan.” The cynics thought it was nothing more than yet another bloated world’s fair. But most found the Electric City to be an expression of all that was good and hopeful: the unity of North and South American nations, the triumph of Man over Nature, and the advent of the modern scientific and engineering marvels that would herald a new century of peace and prosperity.

We can debate which camp won out, but one thing is certain. The assassination of President William McKinley in the Pan-American’s Temple of Music drew a curtain forever over the promise of the Pan— and left Buffalo with a bitter legacy that is remembered even today.

The Buffalo Butcher also takes us into a darker side of bright, up-and-coming Buffalo, then the nation’s fastest-growing city. We visit the back alleys of the Tenderloin District, a large red-light zone in the heart of downtown, where most anything was tolerated by city officials and police, so long as it stayed put. Hundreds of brothels and low-end dives huddled together in the Tenderloin and existed—for the most part—on the exploitation of young women who often had no other good option.

It’s an unflinching and sometimes hard-to-bear story of the real evil that walks among us, the warped and wicked who prey on the vulnerable, and how they work their black magic. I could not turn away from that part: If you’re looking for a ‘cozy mystery’, this ain’t it—I had to tell the story in a way that would do honor to the victims, and without any sympathy for the devil.

Yet, I think, Butcher it is also a story of friendship and love, decency and honor, and perhaps most of all courage, among a group of outcast women confronting loneliness, condemnation, shame, and loss. The masks come off in The Buffalo Butcher, and while as always I hope you’ll find it a good read, I hope too that you’ll find the story as touching as I did—even if a little spooky.

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About Author Robert Brighton:

Award-winning author Robert Brighton is an authority on the Gilded Age, and a great believer that the Victorian era was anything but stuffy. In his Avenging Angel Detective Agency Mysteries, Brighton exposes the turbulence of the era – its passions, dreams, and disasters – against a backdrop of careful research on the places, sights, sounds, and smells of the time.

When he is not walking the streets in the footsteps of the Avenging Angels, sniffing out unsolved mysteries, Brighton is an adventurer. He has traveled in more than 50 countries around the world, personally throwing himself into every situation his characters will face – from underground ruins to opium dens – and (so far) living to tell about it.

A graduate of the Sorbonne, Paris, Brighton is an avid student of early 20th Century history and literature, an ardent and relentless investigator, and an admirer of Emily Dickinson and Jim Morrison. He lives in Virginia with his wife and their two cats.

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Once Upon A Christmas Castle by Virginia Barlow ~ Peek Inside And Giveaway

Posted: November 24, 2023 in giveaways, historical romance
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Welcome to my stop on the virtual book tour for Once Upon A Christmas Castle organized by Goddess Fish Promotions.

Author Virginia Barlow will be awarding a a free copy of Gamble of Hearts to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Don’t forget to enter!

And you can click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

Once Upon A Christmas Castle

by Virginia Barlow

 

 

Genre: Historical Holiday Romance

Synopsis

Lady Rosalind Chatham journeys with her family to Weston Castle to wed an ancient earl on Christmas day. Yearning for true love, she falls for the duke, her stepfather’s cousin, while preparing for her nuptials.
Lady Rosalind entrances the Duke of Weston. Concerned for her future with the tempestuous earl, he can’t afford to get involved. The fines and scandal will be too great for a man of his wealth and power.
When the truth comes to light, and he almost loses her forever, he finds he cannot afford to give less than his whole heart.

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Enjoy this peek inside:

Careful not to make a sound, she sat on the window ledge and slipped her feet out the window. Turning to face the interior of the room, she inched her hips over the window ledge. She slipped on the ice, frozen to the brick outside the window, and slid down faster than she intended, cringing when the silk of her day gown ripped.

Panic gripped her like a cinched corset. She did not fear falling. No. The fine sheen of terror covering her brow appeared out of fear she might wake the earl.

Catching the edge of the brick where she lay against it halfway between her bosom and her waist, she sucked in a deep breath, conscious she must present a sight with her skirts bunched up and wedged between her and the window ledge. Her white pantalets and silk-stockinged legs dangled as she maneuvered her hands so she could drop to the ground. Thank the gods no one wandered the flower gardens beneath her to see her unladylike display.

Her prayer of gratitude stopped dead, and she received the shock of her life when a large pair of hands caught her about the waist!

She froze in terror, not daring to breathe.

“Lady Rosalind, how unexpected of you to drop by like this.” The duke’s deep voice laughed at her as he held her still.

She swallowed her cry of surprise and choked. God, what Cousin Lucius must be thinking about her right now.

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About Author Virginia Barlow

I have always loved reading romance novels. I used to sneak into my mom’s room as a young girl and read them while she was gone. As I grew older, my reading and tastes expanded to sci-fi, dystopian, paranormal, and fantasy.

 

I considered becoming an author in my late twenties but as a busy mother with toddlers, I didn’t have the time nor the energy.

Later, in my fifties, I decided to give it a try and have enjoyed every moment of it since. I recently signed my fourteenth contract and am doing my happy dance as I type this. My husband of forty-one years is my greatest support as are all my kids. Most of them are grown and carving out lives for themselves. They are the beat of my heart and with every grandchild, the rhythm gets stronger. I enjoy every moment of my life.

 

Social Media Links: Twitter / Instagram / Facebook

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Buy Links: Amazon / B&N / Goodreads / BookBub

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The Mark Of The Salamander by Justin Newland ~ Peek Inside And Giveaway

Posted: November 8, 2023 in giveaways, Guest Post, Historical
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Book Details:

​ The Mark of the Salamander by Justin Newland
Category:  Adult Fiction (18 +),  246 pages
Genre: Historical Fiction and Magical Realism 
Publisher:  The Book Guild
Release date:  September 2023
Content Rating: PG-13 +M. Mild sex and cruelty. Mature themes.

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Book Description:

1575.

Nelan Michaels is a young Flemish man fleeing religious persecution in the Spanish Netherlands. Settling in Mortlake outside London, he studies under Queen Elizabeth’s court astrologer, conjuring a bright future – until he’s wrongly accused of murder. Forced into the life of a fugitive, Nelan hides in London, before he is dramatically pressed into the crew of the Golden Hind. Thrust into a strange new world on board Francis Drake’s vessel, Nelan sails the seas on a voyage to discover discovery itself. Encountering mutiny, ancient tribes and hordes of treasure, Nelan must explore and master his own mystical powers – including the Mark of the Salamander, the mysterious spirit of fire.

THE MARK OF THE SALAMANDER is the first in The Island of Angels series: a two-book saga that tells the epic story and secret history of England’s coming of age during the Elizabethan era.

 
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Author Guest Post
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My latest historical fiction novel, The Mark of the Salamander, has just hit the shelves. It’s the first title in a two-book series, The Island of Angels, which tells the epic story and secret history of England’s coming of age during the Elizabethan era.

This is blog is about the title, namely The Mark of the Salamander. 

First of all, what is a salamander? Well, it’s a spirit of fire.

In Medieval times, Paracelsus, the great Swiss alchemist, identified the four beings or spirits of the elements. While the salamander is the fire elemental, gnomes inhabit the earth, undines swim in the waters of the oceans, and sylphs are air spirits.

As a spirit of fire, the salamander is a lithe creature that occupied the other world, and so would only be appear to be seen those who had the eyes to see them. Just like the other three elemental spirits, the salamander had healing properties, and had to those it attended, it gave the power of foresight, and of insight into the future.

Fire is fascinating. It lives, it’s alive. At the hearth, it warms, and yet it destroys. It melts, it smelts, and it cleanses. It houses the phoenix who rises from the ashes, it begets new birth, and yet Hell is full of the stuff.

It’s the living fire, the fire that we breathe that’s inside the air, the flame of life and living.

And there’s a ruby salamander mentioned in the novel. The idea of it came from this image of a ruby salamander pendant. Gold filigree set with rubies, it was recovered from a Spanish galleon off the coast of Northern Ireland some years after the Armada. So, although it was probably not part of the treasure taken by Drake from the Spanish ship, the Cacafuego, the fact that it was a salamander gave me the idea to use it in the novel.

What about the mark, the mark of the salamander? What’s that?

Well, I got the idea from the Ancient Greek myth about the warrior Achilles. The legend goes that his mother dipped him into the River Styx to make his entire body invulnerable, except for the part of his foot where she held him—the proverbial Achilles heel. That was his identifying feature, in his case, his weakness and ultimately, his destiny.

In a similar way, Nelan, the hero of my novel, is born with three wavy lines beneath the middle finger of his right hand. That’s the mark of the salamander. That way, his supernatural powers, such as clairvoyance, ESP, and telepathy, can be identified with a physical feature, an actual mark on the body.

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Meet the Author:

JUSTIN NEWLAND’s novels represent an innovative blend of genres from historical adventure to supernatural thriller and magical realism. His stories explore the themes of war and religion, and speculate on the human’s spiritual place in the universe.

Undeterred by the award of a Doctorate in Mathematics from Imperial College, London, he conceived his debut novel, The Genes of Isis (Matador, 2018), an epic fantasy set under Ancient Egyptian skies.

The historical thriller, The Old Dragon’s Head (Matador, 2018), is set in Ming Dynasty China in the shadows of the Great Wall.

​The Coronation (Matador, 2019) was another historical adventure and speculates on the genesis of the most important event in the modern world – the Industrial Revolution.

The Abdication (Matador, 2021) is a mystery thriller in which a young woman confronts her faith in a higher purpose and what it means to abdicate that faith.

The Mark of the Salamander (Book Guild, 2023) is the first in a two-book series, The Island of Angels. Set in the Elizabethan era, it’s an epic tale of England’s coming of age.

His work in progress is the second in the series, The Midnight of Eights, the charting of the uncanny coincidences that led to the repulse of the Spanish Armada.

Author, speaker and broadcaster, Justin appears on LitFest panels, gives talks to historical associations and libraries and enjoys giving radio interviews and making podcasts. Born three days before the end of 1953, he lives with his partner in plain sight of the Mendip Hills in Somerset, England.

connect with the author:
​website ~ twitter ~ facebook ~ instagram ~ pinterest ~ bookbub ~ goodreads

 
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Murder At Midnight by Katharine Schellman ~ Peek Inside And Giveaway

Posted: October 7, 2023 in giveaways, Historical, Mystery
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Murder at Midnight by Katharine Schellman Banner

Murder at Midnight
by Katharine Schellman
September 18 – October 13, 2023 Virtual Book Tour

 

 

Synopsis:
 
Perfect for fans of Deanna Raybourn and Ashley Weaver, when a body is found shot to death after an unexpected snowstorm, Lily Adler quickly realizes that some people will stop at nothing to bury their secrets.

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Regency widow Lily Adler is looking forward to a quiet Christmastide away from the schemes and secrets she witnessed daily in London. Not only will she be visiting the family of her late husband; she will be reunited with Captain Jack Hartley, her friend and confidante, finally returned after a long voyage at sea. But secrets aren’t only found in London. Jack’s younger sister, Amelia, is the center of neighborhood scandal and gossip. She refuses to tell anyone what really happened, even when an unexpected snowstorm strands the neighborhood families together after a Christmas ball. Stuck until the snow stops, the Adlers, Hartleys, and their neighbors settle in for the night, only to be awakened in the morning by the scream of a maid who has just discovered a dead body.

The victim was the well-to-do son of a local gentleman–the same man whose name has become so scandalously linked to Amelia’s.

With the snow still falling and no way to come or go, it’s clear that someone in the house was responsible for the young man’s death. When suspicion instantly falls on Jack’s sister, he and Lily must unmask the true culprit before Amelia is convicted of a crime she didn’t commit.

Praise for Murder at Midnight:

“Delightful . . . Historical mystery fans will devour this holiday treat.” ~ Publishers Weekly

“A plummy period whodunit with a colorful collection of suspects.” ~ Kirkus Reviews

Book Details:

Genre: Historical mystery

Published by: Crooked Lane Books Publication Date: September 2023 Number of Pages: 320 ISBN: 9781639104321 (ISBN10: 1639104321) Series: A Lily Adler Mystery, 4

Book Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | BookShop.org | Goodreads | Penguin Random House

Read an excerpt:
Lily sat bolt upright. Where had the sound come from? It hadn’t been loud . . . another part of the house? For a moment, in the pressing silence, she wondered if she had drifted back to sleep without realizing it and imagined the whole thing. But a moment later, the sounds of a commotion rose just outside her window. Lily dashed to the window, throwing it open with some effort and peering out into the swirl of snow and early- morning light. The guest room she had been given was one of the smaller ones—the better to quickly heat rooms that hadn’t been prepared in advance—and as was typical for such rooms, it lacked a pretty view. Hers looked over what she realized after a moment must be the poultry yard. Darkly clad figures who she could guess were servants stumbled through the thick layer of snow that had fallen, trying to reach the two people in the middle of the yard. One Lily could see from her vantage only as a still, upright figure, hand outstretched and pointing toward the second person, who lay sprawled on the ground. The one on the ground was half covered by the ice and snow, unmoving. Lily grabbed the dressing gown from the chair, pulled on her shoes, and ran from the room. In the hallway, a few guests were poking their heads out of their doors, hair tousled and faces creased with sleep, inquiring grumpily if anyone had heard an odd noise. Lily didn’t stop to consider propriety or worry about what anyone else might think before she yelled “Jack!” as loudly as she could. She didn’t know which room he had been given, but a moment later, a door past the stairs was flung open and the navy captain’s head appeared. “What is it?” he demanded. He was already dressed and wearing his driving coat over his clothing. That was odd at such an early hour, but Lily didn’t have time to be surprised. “Downstairs.” In spite of the months they had spent apart, Lily knew she could depend on him to understand and act quickly. “Something happened. We have to help.” And in spite of those months apart, he didn’t stop to ask questions. More guests were emerging, summoned by Lily’s shout, and questions were beginning to fly back and forth as she dashed down the stairs, Jack on her heels. They didn’t need to wonder where to go; on the floor below, Mrs. Grantham was following a stately-looking woman who might have been the housekeeper or another upper servant. Their pace was just barely too dignified to be a run, but they couldn’t hide their worry as they disappeared down the steps to the kitchen. Lily and Jack hurried after them. The servants’ staircase was narrow and cold. At the bottom, servants clustered in the kitchen, talking in shrill, anxious voices as the cook tried to keep some order. The underservants glanced uneasily at Lily and Jack as they came into the kitchen, but no one seemed to know what to do or say. The door to the yard had been left wide open, and the wind blew in gusts of snow and icy morning light. Outside, more servants were gathered, though they parted like a wave as the housekeeper led Mrs. Grantham out to see what had happened. As Lily and Jack tried to follow, they were stopped by the frail but determined body of the butler, who interposed himself between them and the open door. “Madam, sir, perhaps you would care to return to your rooms? Breakfast will be ready shortly.” Jack drew himself up, clearly prepared to use his rank to push his way past the aging servant. Before he could say anything, though, and before Lily could think how to reply, Mrs. Grantham turned sharply. “What is . . .” She trailed off, eyeing Lily and Jack with trepidation. She looked ready to send them on their way with some commonplace assurance. But half a dozen emotions chased their way across her face in that moment, and she instead asked, “Mrs. Adler, how many of the rumors about you are true?” “That depends on the rumors,” Lily replied calmly, though her heart was pounding. Behind Mrs. Grantham, she could see the limbs of the eerie, still figure sticking out of the snowbank. “Though if you refer only to the ones that are most relevant at this moment . . .” She turned her gaze pointedly toward the body in the snow. “There is indeed some truth to them.” Mrs. Grantham hesitated, then seemed to make up her mind in a rush. She stepped aside, pulling the confused housekeeper with her. There were boots for the servants lined up next to the door, crusted with mud from repeated use. Lily pulled off her delicate evening slippers, slid her bare feet into the pair that looked closest to her size, and followed as she and Jack were ushered into the yard, their eyes fixed on what awaited them there. A man dressed in borrowed clothes, his skin white with cold, his hair thick with clumps of ice and snow. He could have fallen, hit his head, been caught in the storm and frozen. He could still be alive, in need of help. He could have had an innocent reason for being out in the storm. He could have. But this close, Lily could see the snow that had been kicked aside and trampled by half a dozen feet in the servants’ frantic attempts to clear it away. The icy powder was too thick on the ground for her to see the mud of the yard. But it was still stained with red and brown from where the man’s life had leaked away in the night. The once-snowy linen of his shirt was stained the same color, jagged and torn from the bullet that had ended his life. The gun that had fired it had been unearthed beside him, as snow-logged as his own body. The man’s frozen eyes and mouth were wide open, as though he had not believed until the last moment that whoever had faced him in that yard could be capable of the shot that had ended his life. *** Excerpt from Murder at Midnight by Katharine Schellman. Copyright 2023 by Katharine Schellman. Reproduced with permission from Katharine Schellman. All rights reserved.

 

 

About Author Katharine Schellman:
Katharine Schellman

Katharine Schellman is a former actor and one-time political consultant. These days, she writes the Lily Adler Mysteries and the Nightingale Mysteries. Her books, which reviewers have praised as “worthy of Agatha Christie or Rex Stout” (Library Journal, starred review), have received multiple accolades, including being named a Library Journal Best Crime Fiction of 2022, a Suspense Magazine Best Book of 2020, and a New York Times editor’s pick in June 2022. Katharine lives and writes in the mountains of Virginia in the company of her husband, children, and the many houseplants she keeps accidentally murdering.

Catch Up With Katharine Schellman: www.KatharineSchellman.com Goodreads BookBub – @KatharineSchellman Instagram – @katharinewrites Facebook – @katharineschellman

 

 

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A Peek Inside Precious Burdens by Avery Sterling

Posted: September 8, 2023 in historical romance
Tags: , ,
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When passion and revenge clash, love could unravel a deadly feud to which no one is left standing…

 

Title: Precious Burdens
Author: Avery Sterling
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
Pages: 324
Genre: Historical Romance

Sarafina di Ramonicci sets sail for America as the promised bride in an arranged political marriage.       

Taken
prisoner at sea, she clashes with her captor and demands freedom, only
to discover he is planning her future husband’s demise, with her as a
pawn in their deadly feud. The challenge of escape tests her loyalty to
family, human decency, and love.  

Captain
Nye Tarquin is a dangerous man. Left to die on the streets of New
Orleans, he swears retribution on the man responsible. When he makes
Sarafina part of his plan, he isn’t prepared for the fiery vixen aboard
his ship, nor his desire to claim her as his own. When passion overtakes
honor, he’s torn between his heart and his need for justice.  

Amazon / B&N

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Book Excerpt  

A grin formed on his lips. “She belongs to me now,” he said, his voice was as cool as his expression. “And when Cornell comes for her, I’ll be waiting to return the favor… only I’ll succeed, where he did not.”

Sarafina’s fingers curled around her goblet. “What makes you think he’ll come for her?”

“He has several reasons to take the bait. Cornell will demand satisfaction for his humiliation.”

“His humiliation?” She sat up straighter. “What about hers? Do you understand what people will think when they find out she was held hostage here? If her intended is murdered and she’s left stranded, this will leave her utterly alone. What will become of her, then?”

“She’ll marry someone better than the likes of Cornell, I hope,” he replied dryly.

She slammed her goblet down and flew to her feet. “And who would want her?”

He remained seated. “I’m doing her a great service,” he said calmly, leaning on the arm of his chair. “You have no idea the kind of life she would’ve been subjected to.”

“So, you’re her savior now?”

The captain pushed off his chair, and straightened to his full height. She kept her glare locked with his, but keeping it steady was becoming as difficult as her breathing. “Maybe,” he said.

   “That’s an absurd notion,” she replied.

   “Is it?” he asked. He stepped towards her, and she stepped back in unison, until the back of her legs hit the chair.

 

 

 

About the Author

 

 

 

Avery Sterling’s love
for the romance genre began in her teen years when she picked up her
first novel. She was captivated by the sweeping scale of emotions
brought about by the words. The experience catapulted her towards
learning the art of wielding a breathtaking adventure, with a love that
felt authentic. Wanting to inspire people with her own thoughts and
words, she finished her first novel at sixteen. It was a step towards
understanding the essence of what she wished to create. 

Most of her youth was
spent traveling, searching out the romance and beauty in her
everchanging world. From the waves that crashed against the rocky shores
of Downeast, Maine, to the warm breezes of the Caribbean, she
discovered that love was universal, apparent in its grandest and
simplest of forms. Her goal is to write novels an audience can relate
to, one that conveys the truth and nature of love…with all the steamy
romance. 

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Her Own Revolution ~ The Chateau de Verzat Series by Debra Borchert

Posted: August 20, 2023 in giveaways, Historical, Romance
Tags: , ,
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Her Own Revolution: Château de Verzat Series
by Debra Borchert

 


Her Own Revolution: Château de Verzat Series
Historical Romance
2nd in Series
Setting – Paris and a Loire Valley vineyard during the French Revolution
Le Vin Press (July 14, 2023)
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 422 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0989454576
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0989454575
Digital Print length ‏ : ‎ 364 pages
ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0BYKFQGLG

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A Woman Forges a Treacherous Path to Save Hundreds from the Guillotine

If Geneviève Fouquier-Tinville had the same rights as a man, she wouldn’t have to dress like one, which she does to attend University—forbidden to women. By swearing her commitment to the revolution, she succeeds in convincing her father, the Public Prosecutor who condemns thousands to the guillotine, to hire her as a court clerk. But she intends to earn passage to join her lover, Henri, in America.

Tasked with copying lists of names scheduled for execution, she reads Louis LaGarde, a fallen noble whom she despises for having exposed her as a woman when they both attended University. Believing him innocent, she replaces his name with one already dead, saving his life. But she realizes that unless she forges a treacherous path, hundreds more will perish at her father’s hands.

When a Revolutionary hunts her down, she must accept LaGarde’s help, yet she denies her attraction to him out of loyalty to Henri. She fights for her life and the lives of those she’s come to love, but she must face the truth of her own heart.

 

About Debra Borchert 

Debra’s debut novel, Her Own Legacy, is the first in a series that follows headstrong and independent women and the four-hundred loyal families who protect a Loire Valley château and vineyard, and its legacy of producing the finest wines in France during the French Revolution. Her Own Revolution is the second book in the Château de Verzat series. A graduate of the Fashion Institute of Technology, she weaves her knowledge of textiles and clothing design throughout her historical French fiction. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her family and standard poodle who is named after a fine French Champagne.

Author Links: Website / Instagram / Facebook / Goodreads

Purchase Links – Amazon – B&N – Kobo – Bookshop.org

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SWEETBITTER by Reginald Gibbons

Posted: August 19, 2023 in Historical
Tags: , ,
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“This is an adventure story and a romance, but in Gibbons’ hands, it’s that and much more. Exquisitely rendered and deeply felt, this is as astute and absorbing as fiction gets.”

—Booklist

SWEETBITTER (Jackleg Press; Publication: August 1, 2023) takes place in east Texas in 1910 during the time of white rule―not by law but by lynch mob. Amid the suffocating racism and fear, half-Choctaw, half-white Reuben Sweetbitter and Martha Clarke, a white woman, fall in love.  This is an authentic, richly detailed novel with themes of sacrifice, fear and the loss of one’s identity inspired by Giddon’s family – who’s paternal grandfather half-Choktaw – and his experiences  growing up in  protestant evangelical Texas where racism and white supremacy was rampant.  Library Journal writes: “Atypical of love stories, this realistic work maintains a historical perspective in lending the couple short-lived happiness.”

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PROLOGUE

Many generations ago Aba, the great spirit above, created many men, all Chahtah, who spoke the language of the Chahtah, and under- stood one another. They came from the heart of the earth and were made of clay, and before them no men had ever lived.

One day they all gathered and looking upward wondered what the blue of the sky and the white of the clouds were made of. They determined to try to reach the sky by building a great mound. They piled up rocks to build a mound that would reach the sky but at night the wind blew from above so strongly that the rocks fell down. The second day, too, they worked, building the mound but again that night the wind came while they slept and it pushed down their work. On the third day they began yet again. But that night the wind blew so hard it hurled the rocks of the mound down upon the builders themselves.

They were not killed, but when daylight came and they crawled out from beneath the rocks that had fallen on them and they began to talk to one another, they discovered that they could no longer understand each other. They spoke many languages instead of one. Some of them spoke the original language, the Chahtah language. Others, who no longer spoke this language, began to fight with those who did. Finally they separated. The Chahtah remained, the original people, and lived near nanih waya, the mound they had not been able to complete. And the others went north and east and west and encountered more tribes.

In this way or some other, all the peoples of the earth were created, each from some substance and thus of different appearance, and at times struggling against each other. This is what the Chahtah told to a white missionary. But this was only a little of what the Chahtah knew. It was not for that man to know everything. And then he wrote mistaken things about them.

 

Excerpted from SWEETBITTER by Reginald Gibbons © 2023 by Reginald Gibbons, used with permission from JackLeg Press.

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About Author Reginald Gibbons

Reginald Gibbons

Reginald Gibbons’ works include An Orchard In The Street (BOA Editions), Creatures Of A Day ( a Finalist in poetry  for the National Book Award, LSU Press and his most recent book of poems Renditions (Four Way Books).

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MORE ABOUT REGINALD GIBBONS

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His translations include Selected Poems of Luis Cernuda (Sheep Meadow), Sophocles’ Selected Poems:
Odes and Fragments (Princeton University Press), and his co-translations include Sophocles’ Antigone and Euripides’ Bakkhai (both with the late Charles Segal, Oxford University Press).
Gibbons’ poems and short fiction have been published in Harper’s, The New York Times, The Atlantic,
The Paris, Review, Poetry, The Georgia Review, American Poetry Review, The Shanghai Review, Tikkun,
Ploughshares, Southern Review, Southwest Review, The Chicago Tribune, and many other magazines and periodicals. From 1981 to 1997, he was the editor of TriQuarterly magazine. His book about poetry, How Poems Think, is a gallery of aspects of poetry that combine feeling and poetic cognition
(University of Chicago Press). Gibbons has won fellowships from the Fulbright Foundation, the
Guggenheim Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Center for Hellenic
Studies. He has received several prizes, including the Folger Shakespeare Library’s O. B. Hardison,
Jr., Poetry Prize, and the Fuller Award for lifetime achievement from the Chicago Literary Hall of
Fame. Since 1981, he has taught creative writing at Northwestern University, where he is an
emeritus Frances Hooper Professor of Arts and Humanities. From the 1980s till the 2010s, he also
taught at more than twenty residencies of the Warren Wilson MFA for Writers.

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ADDITIONAL PRAISE | SWEETBITTER

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“Gibbons writes with a poet’s graceful attention to language, limning and then blending lovely details of the East Texas landscape, its denizens, its woods, seasons and storms, with Reuben’s half-remembered, bastardized versions of Choctaw myth and Martha’s dreamy, at-arm’s-length relationship to the white world she can’t live in yet can’t do without.” —Washington Post Book World

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“A stately, lyrical meditation on turn-of-the-century Texas… As much a meditation on the American
destruction of aboriginal civilization as it is a story about star-crossed romance.” —Texas Observer
“A sweeping yet intimate first novel that tells the story of the Choctaw Indians through the troubled life of one Reuben S. Sweetbitter, half Choctaw, half white… An absorbing story.” —Publishers Weekly
“The gripping story of illicit love… in prose not easily forgotten… [A] lovely and captivating novel.”
—The Nation

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“Surprising in every way… The novel’s ending is as strong as its beginning—terrifying and beautiful, a true tour de force.” —Chicago Tribune

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“A story of dreams, of memory, of a search for identity, or love and all the senseless obstacles it sometimes must face.” —Dallas Morning News

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“A fictional world of great vividness and detail… Gibbons’ prose can be… descriptive, evocative, even
picaresque, but he does not forget how to tell a story in straightforward sentences.”
—Review of Contemporary Fiction

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PUBLICITY CONTACT:
Jennifer Harris, JackLeg Press
ON SALE: August 15, 2023 jharris@jacklegpress.org
SWEETBITTER, Reginal Gibbons | JackLeg Press | On Sale: August 1, 2023
ISBN: 978-1737513421 | 6×9 Paperback | 19.00 US | 452 Pages

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LEARN MORE | ORDER

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Reginald Gibbons| Jackleg Press | #SWEETBITTER

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Retail: Ingram Content Group | Libraries: Libraries (ingramcontent.com)

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JackLeg Press | JackLeg employs an environmentally sustainable publishing model and a rigorous
editorial process to bring the best new and familiar voices into the literary world. At JackLeg, we
stress authenticity, collaboration, and bold thinking.

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Murder Under A Western Moon ~ A 1930’s Mona Moon Historical Mystery by Abigail Keam

Posted: July 25, 2023 in Cozy Mystery, Historical
Tags: , ,
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Murder Under A Western Moon: A 1930s Mona Moon Historical Cozy Mystery
by Abigail Keam

 


Murder Under A Western Moon: A 1930s Mona Moon Historical Cozy Mystery
Historical Cozy Mystery
11th in Series
Setting – Montana
Worker Bee Press (July 24, 2023)
Digital Number of Pages: 280
ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0BTWBFCV5

Mona is the American Phyrne Fisher!

Mona Moon and her new husband, Robert Farley, Duke of Brynelleth are about to board an ocean liner to Merry Old England for their honeymoon when Mona receives an urgent telegram from Rupert Hunt, her eyes and ears in the Moon copper mines.

POTENTIAL RIOT AT MONTANA MINE STOP DEAD MINER STOP POSSIBLE MURDER STOP COME AT ONCE STOP RUPERT HUNT

Since the copper mines are the financial backbone of Moon Enterprises, Mona has no choice but to drop her plans and travel to Montana on the next train. She and Robert descend into a world of seething resentments, bitter accusations against Moon Enterprises, and bad decisions that pose a threat to Mona’s world. She travels incognito to search out the truth of Rupert’s allegations against the mining management. She must decide if Rupert is trying to prevent an innocent man from being hung for murder or if he is part of a grandiose plot against her. After all, Mona had been kidnapped by Rupert while searching for the Swift silver mine a year ago. Rupert is a scoundrel, but Mona hired him to be her scoundrel. Is this another of Rupert’s games? Regardless of the threat, Mona must get to the bottom of it. Thank goodness Robert is by her side . . . or could Robert have his own agenda?

About Abigail Keam

Award-winning author Abigail Keam writes the Mona Moon Mystery Series—a rags-to-riches 1930s mystery series which includes real people and events into the story. “I am a student of history and love to insert historical information into my mysteries. My goal is to entertain my readers, but if they learn a little something along the way—well, then we are both happy.”  She has won many awards for her mysteries, and Murder Under A Western Moon is her 40th novel.  Miss Abigail lives on the cliffs above the Kentucky River with her husband and various critters.  In her spare time, Miss Abigail is a beekeeper.

Author Links: Official Site / Facebook / Instagram / Pinterest / Amazon / TikTok

Purchase Links
Amazon    Apple Books   Nook    Amazon UK    Amazon AU    Amazon CA

Enjoy this peek inside:

As Mona and Robert compared notes while riding back to the hotel, both of them heard a loud cracking noise that traveled through the car.

“What was that?” Mona asked.  “It sounded like the snap of a bullwhip.”

Robert ordered the driver, “Slow down, please.”  He rolled down his window and listened.

“There it is again,” Mona said.  “Driver, stop.”  She got out of the car and looked about, but it was dark with a moonless sky.  Mona couldn’t see anything.

Another crack sounded.

The Pinkertons in the car following them also got out and looked about.

A fourth crack pierced the air.

“It’s gunfire!  Take cover,” one of the Pinkertons shouted.

Mona ducked down by the side of the car as Robert joined her.  “Turn the car lights off!” she yelled.

Robert threw Mona on the ground and shielded her with his body, but they both lifted their heads upon hearing a rumble. “AVALANCHE!   AVALANCHE!” Robert yelled, as he dragged Mona to the side of the mountain and frantically covered both their heads with his arms.  Their driver huddled with them.  Since darkness prevented them from seeing which direction the snow was headed, there was no use in running.  Some of the Pinkertons realized they were in the path of the descending wall of snow and ran.  Their shrieks could be heard above the roar of the torrent as they got caught in the avalanche and were hurled down the mountainside.

“Oh, God!” Mona murmured upon hearing the men scream.

Robert whispered into her ear, “Don’t listen.  Don’t listen.”  He put his hands over her ears.

The rumbling abruptly stopped and was replaced by a haunting silence.  Robert and Mona waited a few minutes before climbing out of the snowbank which had fallen about them.  Luckily, they had not been hit with any of the displaced rocks and boulders propelled by the tumbling snow.  Robert cleared snow from their driver who also was unharmed.

Shouts came from the Pinkertons who had been in a car ahead of them.  They had not been involved in the avalanche.  “Anyone hurt?” one guard shouted.

Robert yelled, “Second car is fine except we are bound by snow, but the third car got the brunt of the slide.  We think there are casualties, but we can’t see and no one is answering our calls.”

“We are digging you out now.  Can you get into your car?”

Robert replied, “Negative.  The doors are blocked by snow.”

“Stay where you are.  We are coming.”

Mona, Robert, and the driver helped each other get the snow from around their collars, inside their gloves, and tops of their boots.  Each gave a vigorous shake to remove snow from their coats.  Both the driver and Robert dug snow away with their hands from the trunk of the car to access a shovel, emergency blankets, and a first-aid kit.  Mona moved to the back passenger door and pulled snow away from the car with her hands.  The work kept them all warm.

As the Pinkertons in the first car were making headway with the fallen snow, Mona and Robert saw car lights in the distance behind them, curving the bend in the road.  They heard the roar of the car engine and saw beams of flashlights.

“HELLO?  HELLO?”

Robert shouted, “WE’RE HERE!”

Mona grabbed Robert’s arm.  “Robert, be careful.  These could be the men who caused the avalanche.”

“WE’LL HELP YOUR MEN.  THE CAR’S GONE OVER THE SIDE.”

Robert yelled back, “YES, DO THAT!  WE’LL FREE OUR CAR AND THEN START DIGGING TOWARD YOU.”  Turning, Robert asked, “Do you have your gun on you, Mona?”

“It’s in my purse which is in the car.  What about your six-shooter?”

“Under the snow somewhere.”

“I’ve got one in my shoulder holster, and there’s another gun in the glove compartment if we can get to it,” the Pinkerton driver announced.

“Good man,” Robert said.  “Put your gun where you can use it in a hurry.”

Mona, Robert, and the driver dug around their car finally clearing the snow away from the trunk.  The driver took the shovel and shoveled the road while Robert put several blankets around Mona, whose hands had frozen so badly that she lost the feeling in them.

After an hour, the Pinkertons from the first car cleared away the snow and reached Mona and Robert.  They put Mona in their vehicle which was still warm.  She was grateful for the warmth and rubbed her numb hands in front of the car’s heater.

Robert worked with the Pinkertons to reach the third car, but once they broke through a wall of snow, there was no third car.  It had careened down the mountain.  Its blinking tail lights were faintly visible beneath the snow.

They found four men hoisting bodies through a series of ropes tied to a truck.  A man wearing a Stetson and standing near the road’s edge, watched them bring the bodies up.  Upon seeing his milky eye, Robert recognized the man, who worked for Margaret Daly.

Robert walked up to the man.  “Is everyone dead?”

“No.  I have two men in the truck.  They are banged up a bit, but otherwise fine.  They told me that someone repeatedly fired a gun, which caused the avalanche.”

“How did you happen upon us?” Robert asked.

“Miss Margaret gave orders to follow.  She felt you were in danger although we never expected anything like this.  You’ve got to admit it was devilishly clever.”

Not sure the Stetson man was speaking the truth, Robert gave him a long stare before stating, “Thank you.  Our other two cars are working, so we’ll take the injured men into town and send help back.”

“We’ll stay and clear the road.  If the law doesn’t come soon enough, we’ll bring in the bodies and leave them at the funeral home.”  The Stetson man tried to peek around Robert.  “I trust Miss Moon is fine.”

“Fit as a fiddle,” Robert replied, coldly.  “I’ll collect those injured men and be off.”  He nodded to the Pinkertons to gather their associates.  “Thank you again, and chin chin.

The Stetson man tipped the brim of his hat.

Robert walked back with the Pinkerton men, all the while wondering if he was going to be shot in the back.  Once safely ensconced in the first car with Mona, he turned to her.  “You’ll never guess who turned out to be our savior.”

Mona pulled her blanket over Robert.  “Who?”

“Margaret Daly.  She ordered the Stetson man to follow us.”

“She could have ordered him to start the avalanche.”

“I thought it odd myself that her man happened to arrive a short time after the avalanche.  I’ll guess we’ll never know the real truth, but she did warn you of danger, Mona.”  Robert lit a cigarette as his nerves were frayed.  “What do you want to do now?”

Mona didn’t chide Robert about smoking as she knew he was upset.  She was disturbed as well.  “We’ve got three managers to deal with.  We need to stay in Montana until this mess is cleared up.”

“We got out by the skin of our teeth tonight, Mona, and two of our men didn’t make it.  We need to make changes fast, and then get the heck out of here.”

“I don’t like putting our men and ourselves in danger, but we’ve got to see this through, Robert.”

A Pinkerton knocked on the car window.

Mona rolled it down.

“Sorry, folks, but we need to put one of the injured men in this car.  It’s pretty tight in the other vehicle.”

“Assuredly, bring him here,” Robert said, before turning to his wife.  “I’ll drive and we’ll put two men in the back.”

Mona got out and stood aside as Pinkertons carried their injured comrade.  They eased him into the back of the car.  Mona took off her blanket, wrapping it around the injured man.  She said to the non-injured Pinkerton, “You’ll stay with him?”

“Ma’am, he can use my lap as his pillow.  We’ll get him to a hospital all right.”

Mona replied, “We shall fly to the nearest hospital like the fastest hawk.”

“Better make it a night owl.”

Mona gave a ghost of a smile at the Pinkerton’s jest.  She slid into the front seat and turned to Robert.  “We’re ready.  Let’s get back to Butte.”

Robert took off the emergency brake and depressed on the clutch, putting the car in first gear.  The car began to roll downward and Robert put the car in second gear. “Here we go, ready or not.”

But Mona didn’t hear Robert.  She was deep in thought planning her next move.

Someone was going to pay for the death of those two men as well as Piotr Wojcik and Dr. Driscoll.  Someone indeed!

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A Peek Inside Blake’s Folly Romance Trilogy by J. Arlene Culiner

Posted: May 15, 2023 in Contemporary Romance, Historical
Tags: ,
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Blake’s Folly, a former silver boomtown in Nevada, has become a semi-ghost town. The people who live there are originals, but that doesn’t stop them from finding love…
 

 

 

 

Title: Blake’s Folly Romance Trilogy

Author: W.L. Brooks

Publisher: The Wild Rose Press

Pages: App. 214 pp. each

Genre: Historical / Contemporary Romance

 

By 2023, the silver boomtown of Blake’s Folly, once notorious for saloons, brothels, speakeasies, and divorce ranches, has become a semi-ghost town of abandoned shacks and weedy dirt roads. But unusual settings attract unusual people, those forced to adapt to new circumstances in order to survive, and those who have never really fit into mainstream society. But none are humdrum. All have dreams and a chance to fall in love.

A Room In Blake’s Folly

In 1889, when Blake’s Folly boasted silver mines, saloons, and brothels, the adventurer, Westley Cranston, fell in love with Sookie Lacey a former prostitute. Their romance was doomed but never forgotten, and these six stories tell the tale.

All About Charming Alice

Alice Treemont cooks vegetarian meals, rescues unwanted dogs, and protects the most unloved creatures on earth: snakes. What man would share those interests?

Jace Constant is in Nevada, doing research, but he won’t be staying long. He hates desert dust, dog hair and snakes terrify him. Even if the air sizzles each time Alice and Jace meet, any romance seems doomed.

Desert Rose

Rose Badger is the local flirt, and settling down is the last thing she intends to do. Geologist Jonah Livingstone is intriguing, but with his complicated life, he’s off limits for anything other than friendship.

Jonah Livingstone is fascinated by the sparkling and lovely Rose Badger, but she doesn’t seem inclined to choose a favorite, so why fret? Jonah’s secret life keeps him busy.

Blake’s Folly / Charming Alice /

Desert Rose has no links yet. To be added.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wt3VkYUTVNk

Book Excerpt  

Excerpt from A Room in Blake’s Folly

“You trust Big Jim?” Resentment rippled down Westley Cranston’s spine, meshed with scorn. “A lousy cad who jilted you when you were carrying his child? Who knew your bigoted family would kill you?”

Seemingly unperturbed, Sookie Lacey dipped her forefinger into the oily pot of carmine on her dressing table, spread the rosy salve over her lips. Turned, met Westley’s eyes squarely. “Jim didn’t have a choice. He was on the lam. He had to keep moving.”

“Because he was wanted for a violent robbery! Why the hell are you making excuses for an unscrupulous criminal who forced himself on an impoverished family?”

“You weren’t out in this part of the world back then. You can’t even imagine that winter when cattle froze to death on the prairie. How could anyone, good or bad, have survived in the open?”

“And while hiding out with your family, he seduced you.”

“Seduced!” Her nostrils flared. “Being with Jim protected me from my vicious brother, my depraved father, I told you that. They both tried to have their way with me.”

It was an old argument, one they’d had many times. Why couldn’t Sookie see that Big Jim’s perfidy could have ruined her life—would have ruined her life if she’d been a weaker woman? A pregnant fifteen-year-old runaway when she arrived in Blake’s Folly, Sassy Sookie had gone to work as a prostitute in the Red Nag Saloon. It wasn’t the lowest sort of brothel, but it wasn’t a classy parlor house either. Yet, clever, lighthearted, and a favorite with the men, she soon realized her own worth. Never succumbing to the temptations of alcohol or laudanum, she’d left the Red Nag, come to the Mizpah, and as a saloon girl, made such excellent money selling dance tickets, encouraging men to buy alcohol, and to gamble, she no longer needed to sell herself.

“So, four years after jilting you, Jim walks into the Mizpah, sees you’ve become successful, and decides to stake his claim. That makes him a decent man?”

“He’s changed. Jim has become a respectable businessman, and he wants to marry me. He’s building us a big fine house where we can live together with our little son.”

“Where? Where will this wonderful fine house be?”

“In Virginia City.”

“Have you ever been there? Seen what he’s building?”

“You know I haven’t. Jim’s been on the road for the last five months. He sends me letters from Denver, San Francisco, New Orleans, and Phoenix.”

How can she be so blind? Westley took a deep breath, forced himself to sound steady and reasonable, not like a man hopelessly in love with the woman he would soon lose. “And what about us? What about what we shared? The nights you spent in my arms?” Nights when she had given herself without reticence but with warmth, tenderness.

Sookie stood, shook out the short, ruffled skirt and colorful petticoats floating just below her shapely calves. Her golden beauty, caught in the lamp’s uneven flicker, made his heart ache. How desirable she was in the low-cut sequined bodice that barely hid the sweetness of her breasts.

“Westley, what you and I shared is our secret. A delicious secret that no one else can know about or even suspect, particularly since Jim has sent Doug Lazy here to protect me.”

“To spy on you, you mean.”

Sookie’s chin tilted defiantly. “Think what you’d like. Just don’t forget I’m marrying Jim in September.”

Pushing past him, she swept out of her boudoir and into the long dark corridor. The tapping of her tasseled kid boots on the stair held a note of finality.

Excerpt from All About Charming Alice

 

The back seat of Jace’s car looked like it needed a shave. “Can’t you dogs keep your hair on?”

The shaggy black animal wagged its tail, a look of simple adoration in its eyes. Jace sighed. His day was going all wrong. He didn’t like dogs, didn’t like dog hair, and didn’t like being late. Yet here he was, late for his appointment and busy driving a shedding mutt around a ramshackle agglomeration no one could call a village or a community. A semi-ghost town? Yes, that was the right word for this jumble of shacks, run-down frame houses, beat-up trailers, and car wrecks strewn along weed-choked lanes.

Hard to imagine that a hundred years ago Blake’s Folly had been a wild town, a Gomorrah, a name that had brought terror into the hearts of honest men and women but also a refuge in a harsh, hostile wasteland. Times had changed, all right. Nowadays there was nothing appealing, nothing welcoming, and nothing threatening about the place. It was definitely a has-been.

“Jeez!” Jace muttered. “Why would anyone choose to live in a mess like this?” As if in response to the question, which was, of course, merely rhetorical, the dog shifted forward and licked his cheek.

Jace jerked away, threw the creature a sour look in the rearview mirror. “The last thing I need is a dog with all the answers.”

The dog was large—very large. Its bulbous head seemed to sway on a sagging neck. Its legs were long, knotted, and spindly, and its ribs wanted to punch through a dull, ratty-looking coat. Yet, ugly though it was, the damn thing had a strange appeal.

But was that a reason to talk to it? Jace had never had a conversation with an animal in his life—folks who did were either nuts or absolute fools. “And there’s no way I’m sliding into one of those categories!” he stated with definite emphasis. The animal’s tail thumped a mocking denial on the seat.

Jace groaned. It was all the fault of the dry Nevada air. “Doing strange things to my brain. I need the city, with big city dirt, pollution, and noise. Spend a few more hours in the desert with this beast, I’ll find myself explaining the theory of relativity to it.” He turned again. The amount of dog hair on the back seat had now reached disaster proportions. He had to get rid of this animal and fast.

Suddenly, the rutted track came to an abrupt end. Jace slammed his foot down on the brake, and the car skidded to a dusty stop. Now what? Ahead of him, the countryside stretched out in beige desert monotony: endless, lifeless, treeless. The man at the gas station had told him to take this dog to the last house in town: a yellow mansion. One belonging to a woman called Alice Treemont—how was that for a moniker? Certainly seemed appropriate for someone who lived in the desert and took in stray dogs. He could picture her, too, hair dyed ruby red, cigarette hanging out of a corner of her mouth, her body molded by leopard-print latex. Or else a mean-lipped witch, one who hated every male on Earth.

Jace stared at the structure on his right. High, ancient, rickety, made out of wood, it looked nothing like a mansion and more like the typical haunted house found in amusement parks. Could this be what he was looking for? Impossible. He peered out at the landscape: left, right, behind, ahead. Nothing else. Just this.

“And the locals call that yellow?” Sure, it must have been yellow once…around a hundred years ago. Back then it might have been regal.

Opening the car door, he stepped out onto the soft, brown dust that, to his annoyance, instantly covered the fine Italian leather of his boot. Hell on Earth, that’s what this part of the world was. He was really looking forward to getting back to Chicago with its art galleries, concerts, and theater performances and to meeting up with the good-looking, sophisticated women he knew. But for the next month or so, he was stuck out here, doing research. It was his own fault: sometimes he had crazy ideas.

Excerpt Desert Rose

 

When the bell above the shop door tinkled, Rose’s well-practiced welcome smile was almost in place. Almost…then it stopped in mid-stretch. Stunned, she stared, swallowed, stared some more. My goodness: wasn’t he gorgeous. Her interest increased, and her heart did a pitter-patter tippy-toe dance as she took him in: tallish—but anyone would be tall when compared to her tiny size—rangy, with tousled hair so black it appeared blue under the lights, an explorer’s bone structure and weather-honed skin, deep brown eyes. And here she was, acting like a complete idiot, frozen into place, gawking at him as if he were of another species, or something totally new-fangled dropped down from a distant stretch of the Milky Way.

Not that he seemed to be faring any better, not moving, staring at her, his gaze unwavering, the wide-open door letting in frosty air and plump snowflakes. What was that gaze of his telling her? That he was surprised? Pleased? Oh yes. He liked what he saw, all right—and men did like her, she knew that. She was used to their admiration. They liked naturally golden curls, slanting blue eyes, and the broad, flat cheekbones of the Russian steppe. But wasn’t it especially nice to be admired by such a gorgeous specimen? Yes, indeed.

Mentally, Rose shook herself, forced herself out of her stupor—somebody had to do something. This was a store, a business, not a blind date. If a man suddenly showed up in a ladies’ dress shop, that meant there was already a woman in his life. Unless he was a cross-dresser. Or was lost and needed directions out of this half-a-horse hellhole.

“Hello.” She forced the formerly incomplete smile into something more fulsome and professional.

“Hello,” he answered. Smiled back. Not a forced smile, though. A wonderful one that softened the craggy angles of his face, crinkled into deep lines around his mouth and eyes.

Rose swallowed. Stared for another few seconds, then ordered herself to stop thinking about his smile, his lips, the bristly, salty way his skin would taste if she licked it, right there, at the corner of his mouth. The thought made her knees tremble. A bad case of lust at first sight? With a great effort of willpower, she corralled the lusty thoughts until they were more manageable, somewhat closer to normality. Heard her own voice, calm, practical: “Can I help you with something?”

He blinked, once, twice, as if waking from a trance. Then, laugh lines and crinkles disappeared, gave way to a more business-like expression. “Yes, of course.” Stepping into what was left of the warmth in the shop, he turned, closed the door behind him. Stared at her again. Cleared his throat. “I’m looking for a present.”

“For your wife?” Rose held her breath.

His mouth tightened. “Not quite.”

“Ah.” Hope faded. Not quite a wife wasn’t nearly as bad as a snuggled-in official wife, but it was close enough.

 

More…

 

 

About the Author

 

 

 

 

Writer, photographer, social critical artist, and storyteller, J. Arlene Culiner, was born in New York and raised in Toronto. She has crossed much of Europe on foot, has lived in a Hungarian mud house, a Bavarian castle, a Turkish cave dwelling, on a Dutch canal, and in a haunted house on the English moors. She now resides in a 400-year-old former inn in a French village of no interest and, much to local dismay, protects all creatures, especially spiders and snakes. She particularly enjoys incorporating into short stories, mysteries, narrative non-fiction, and romances, her experiences in out-of-the-way communities, and her conversations with strange characters.

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