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Color of Fire
By Gina Giordano
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(Strange Eden Trilogy, #3)
Publication date: November 20th 2025
Genres: Adult, Historical
“And I thought you were my savior in my darkest hour. How very wrong I was.”
1794: Devastated by the violent disappearance of her husband, Charles Sharpe, Eliza struggles to save Pleasant Hall from the hands of crooked creditors and the governor’s greed. In the aftermath of the attack, her husband’s enemies have branded him a traitor and declare him dead.
But an unlikely source carries knowledge that he still lives, and he alone knows who has taken Charles. Eliza’s desperation drives her to form an alliance with the king of the underworld himself: Captain Hiram Bruin, a notorious man who is more pirate than privateer.
Eliza’s death has been ordered by Lord Dunmore, and Bruin himself tasked with the deed. But Hiram Bruin has never been a man to follow orders. He offers her passage on his ship, the Fortuyne, and his personal protection. In her hour of distress, Eliza accepts—for she has no other choice.
Bruin takes Eliza on a wild and dangerous voyage from the island of New Providence to the wild and untamed Saba, and finally to England, where her journey started three years ago.
Eliza endures her new sinister reality, one where death creeps ever closer, and quickly learns that the only monsters at sea are men. Ensnared by the salt air and damning secrets, one thing is startlingly clear: Bruin wants to take everything she holds dear. For the roots of revenge lie deep…
Will Eliza be able to save the life of her husband before it’s too late? What price is she willing to pay for his freedom? And can she escape this unimaginable nightmare, fueled by a man of unspeakable cruelty?
Color of Fire is the dark, thrilling conclusion to Gina Giordano’s sweeping historical epic, the Strange Eden Trilogy.
Goodreads / Amazon / iBooks / Kobo
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SNEAK PEEK:
“I hope you never forget for one moment that the only reason you are alive right now is because of me,” Bruin said, the venom unmistakable in his voice. “Your every breath is a gift—from me.” He mocked her shallow breaths, then pushed into her again. “You should be thanking me.”
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About Author Gina Giordano:
Gina Giordano always had an insatiable curiosity and a penchant for history. Born in New York City, she is a writer, artist, and a conjurer of the past. She holds a BA in history and a master’s degree in historical fiction from New York University, and has traveled to over fifty-five countries across the globe. When she is not climbing ancient ruins or exploring forgotten palaces, she enjoys swimming with sharks in remote pristine waters. Her debut novel, STRANGE EDEN, was longlisted for the 2023 Bath Novel Award.
To sign up for exciting news and to find out more about the author follow her on Instagram @ginagiordanobooks.
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The Mist and the Flame
Coral-Li St. Helen
(The New Bardiverse, #1)
Publication date: September 15th 2025
Genres: Fantasy, Historical, Young Adult
What’s really behind the story of star-crossed lovers Romeo and Juliet?
Let’s start with the truth about Rosaline—Romeo’s actual first love. Rosaline scorns romance and instead craves magic. To free herself from Romeo’s amorous attention as well as her dull life in Verona, she uses her limited sorcery skills to bring him and Juliet together. Renaming herself Foschia Luminosa, she then gleefully runs off to join a school of magic.
Just when Lumi’s dreams are about to come true, disaster Syra, the intimidating witch who runs the school, denies her entry and demands she return to Verona. She must repair the damage done by her spell or the young couple is doomed and Lumi will be outcast forever.
As tragedy looms ever nearer, Lumi reluctantly teams up with a mysterious, sullen girl calling herself Fiamma Fredda, an orphan of unknown parentage. Freddi is an astonishingly skilled fighter, but who is she, and does she really want to help—or is she using Lumi for her own purposes?
Join Lumi and Freddi in their thrilling quest to save Romeo and Juliet, learn of Freddi’s origins, and grapple with Syra’s own dark past. They—and you—are in for a great many surprises along the way…
Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Apple Books / Kobo
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Enjoy this peek inside:
On the particular day that started it all, our tutor, Grigio, gave me something to translate which turned out to be an old recipe for a potion to be used for suppressing painful memories. It called for various common herbs which I knew Friar Lawrence grew in his garden, so I ran to him the first chance I got to ask for the ingredients. That, I found out later, was how the school at La Fortezza became interested in me. Friar Lawrence and, incredibly, my tutor both looked out for potential candidates to recruit for this secret school. Most of the tutor’s pupils, my cousin Juliet included, merely did the translation (perfectly, in her case). The very few with the curiosity to see if it would work, those were the ones that interested them.
But I knew none of that at the time; I was only interested in making the potion work. Initially, it didn’t, and I figured out there had been an ingredient omitted—possibly deliberately, so Grigio’s students wouldn’t have the complete formula. That was laughable—and insulting. I immediately began experimenting on my own, trying to figure out the missing item. (This extra step, apparently, made La Fortezza very interested in me.) My creations, placed discretely in various rooms, made me sneeze (not magical), made the cook giggle (possibly magical, since she generally had a dour disposition), and made my parents look at each other in a way I hadn’t seen in years (which was uncomfortable to witness but also possibly magical). I noted these combinations of ingredients down and, not satisfied, kept trying.
When I couldn’t quite come up with the perfect formula on my own, I sought the friar again. If Grigio was a young man who seemed like an old one, Friar Lawrence was, if not old, then middle-aged at least, but cheerful, jovial, and youthful in every aspect of his demeanor. To put it another way, he was possibly the only priest that people my age actually liked, someone who talked to you like a person and not just a sinner. In his little garden behind the church he welcomed me with delight, a dirt-crusted trowel in one hand and some mysterious wrinkled root in the other, immediately asking how my potion had gone.
“Not well, thank you. It didn’t work, but I think I know how I can fix it—with your help, if you would.”
“I would be most delighted to help,” he said, eager curiosity shining in his eyes. He put down the trowel and root, dusted his cassock off (though his hands were dirty too and he really only ended up shifting the soiling of the garment to different sections), and gestured me toward a bench where we both sat. “Now, how did you know it didn’t work?”
“I tried. A lot. The closest I got was when I tried it on Bruno, but even then it still wasn’t right.”
“Bruno?”
“The old dog I found wandering around outside our gate. I named him Bruno. Poor thing. He had been treated very badly, we think by a man or several of them—he is afraid of men. I wanted to see if I could help him forget his suffering. He seemed to be calmer when I sprinkled one particular herbal powder mix around him, but he still growls and shrinks away when a man goes by, so he hasn’t completely forgotten.”
The friar smiled. “That was kind of you to try, though a human subject might have been more able to communicate what they were experiencing.”
I shrugged. I wanted to try it on the dog because I wanted to alleviate his suffering. His big brown eyes were deep with sorrow. How could I do otherwise? I went on impatiently, “I know why it didn’t work—there’s an ingredient missing, isn’t there?”
Friar Lawrence tilted his head. “Yes and no. Well, yes and yes, I suppose. The recipe as you received it is in fact missing an ingredient, but that ingredient alone—stridolo petals, I believe—will not make this work. The real missing ingredient is you. Bruno calmed down because you were calm. Bruno cannot forget whatever suffering he went through, no matter what herbs you use, because you can’t forget it—because you never remembered it in the first place.”
“Of course not. I wasn’t there.” Now I frowned. Did I, too, have to be beaten and starved by cruel men for both of us to forget? Wasn’t there an easier way to help my poor sad-eyed friend? There was a limit to what even I wished to experience. “How can I make these things work without, well, going through terrible things?”
“It is a long and difficult journey to take, Rosaline. But I can try to show you the first steps.” He shifted a little on the bench so that he was facing me. “Think of a happy memory from your childhood, but don’t tell me about it.”
His simple request startled me. Was he going to read my mind?
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About Author Coral-Li St. Helen:
Coral-Li St. Helen is the pen name of a writer who lived all over the United States before settling down roughly in the middle. She loves reading and writing, hiking and napping, coffee, noodles, her spouse and her dog.
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The Mist and the Flame Blitz
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Howling Storm
Nicola Italia
Publication date: October 15th 2025
Genres: Adult, Historical, Mystery
A vanished sister. A spooky village. A killer hiding in plain sight.
When Imogene York stumbles upon a long-lost letter hinting at the fate of her sister Felicity who has been missing for over a decade, it leads her to the village of Linwood. Posing as a secretary in the powerful Linwood household, Imogene begins a covert investigation into Felicity’s disappearance.
Her only confidant is Spencer St. George, the village architect with secrets of his own. As fellow outsiders, they forge a connection that transcends mere friendship. But as their bond deepens, so do the dangers surrounding them. Imogene’s search for the truth causes her to cross paths with a killer whose dark impulses are tightly interwoven with Linwood’s past.
As Imogene edges closer to uncovering what happened to her sister, she must confront a chilling truth: the monster she seeks is not be lurking in the shadows… but hiding in plain sight.
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Enjoy this peek inside:
Prologue
In the former ancient royal hunting forest, the silence was almost deafening. If a bird had chirped or an owl had screeched, it might have even been comforting to hear. She would know she wasn’t alone. But the still of the night was all the more terrorizing for its emptiness. She put a hand to her breast as it rose and fell with her rapid, shallow breathing.
The snap of a twig nearby sounded like a shot in the night, and she wished she could melt into the trunk of the tree. Sweat trickled down her lower back, and her dress felt sticky against her skin in the cool night air. She looked out into the woodland park, and inky blackness greeted her.
She brushed the back of her hand against her forehead, which was wet with perspiration, then wiped her hand on her skirt. She touched the gold locket that hung about her neck and felt the weight of it in her hand. She released it and put her palms behind her to steady herself, feeling the rough bark of the tree trunk against her smooth palms.
The dark forest was filled with trees upon trees, with no landmark that gave her a sense of where she was. She was lost. The road was somewhere to her left, but as night had fallen, she could not see how far it might be. Even if a carriage came by, the small lantern the driver carried would not penetrate into the woods for her to see.
“Why are you running? I won’t hurt you.”
The words taunting her. She pushed a small fist against her mouth to stem the desire to cry out in a hysterical laugh. She knew everything—why lie to her? And hurt her? She shuddered at the thought of it.
She heard the rustle of steps upon the ground and tried to still her breathing. She wanted to cry out in frustration. Why had she done this? Why had she come out into the night? If she were caught-no.
She couldn’t think that way. She refused to think that way. She moved swiftly in the opposite direction of the footsteps, holding the hem of her skirt as she went.
If only she had waited. If only she had not discovered the secret. She could still see it and the terrifying secret that had been hidden. God, she wanted it erased from her mind.
She felt confident that if she kept going in this direction, she would reach the road. It had to be the right way. Her skirts wrapped around her legs as she moved quickly, and she stumbled lightly on a small mound. But kept moving. She had to keep moving until she found the road.
She moved around a tree, and a low branch swung out and hit her in the face. It stung her eyes and she cried out. She heard the steps behind her quicken and knew she’d been discovered. She swore under her breath. She had to keep her wits about her. Don’t panic, keep moving, she told herself.
She stumbled again, and this time her knee took the brunt of the fall. She skinned it and winced but kept moving. Her heart was beating fast as she felt the brush underneath her, and the grass and rocks made moving in the dark difficult.
Her name was called out, but she moved resolutely on. She looked left, then right, feeling like a hunted hare. Which way to go? Her eyes scanned the land before her, and then, she saw it. Ahead of her to the right. The small cottage with a light in the downstairs window. She sagged with relief. Her heart soared and she almost cried out in happiness. She hoped there was a brawny man inside who would be willing to bar the door and protect her from the evil of the night.
She ran down the small hill in the dark, through the trees and past the clearing of tall grass, and she didn’t even cry out when she hit her toe against a small rock. The cottage door was painted such a dark blue it looked black in the night. She knocked twice on the door, but without waiting to receive word to enter, she flung it open.
The paraffin lamp flickered inside the small room as her eyes adjusted to the light. She saw the large fireplace and hearth and someone seated before it, their back to her in a yellow rocking chair.
“Excuse me,” she said breathlessly. “I’m sorry for entering without being bade to enter but—”
The figure adjusted its body and turned to stare at her.
“No,” she whispered, her voice catching. “No.”
She took a step back on shaky legs, her toe still smarting from the rock. She took a second step.
You’ve nowhere else to go,” the voice in the yellow rocking chair mocked.
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About Author Nicola Italia:
Nicola is a Los Angeles native. Early in elementary school, Nicola had a great fondness for reading and began to write creatively. She graduated from university with a degree in communications and has held a variety of positions in journalism, education, government and non profit.
Nicola has traveled extensively throughout Europe, China, Central America and Egypt and loves all things historical.
She has nineteen historical romance and mystery novels on Amazon.
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For a list of my reviews go HERE.
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Murder in Matrimony (A Lady of Letters Mystery)
by Mary Winters
Murder in Matrimony (A Lady of Letters Mystery)
Historical Cozy Mystery
4th in Series
Setting – London, 1860
Publisher : Severn House
Publication date : October 7, 2025
Hardcover Print length : 240 pages
ISBN-10 : 1448315492
ISBN-13 : 978-1448315499
Digital Print length : 248 pages
ISBN-13 : 978-1448315505
ASIN : B0F4XCY2RX
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Countess-turned-advice columnist Amelia Amesbury has a wedding to plan alongside a new murder in this charmingly deadly historical mystery.
Countess Amelia Amesbury has her work cut out. As well as balancing her alter ego—secret advice columnist, Lady Agony—and the blackmailer threatening to reveal her real identity, her sister has also announced she’s getting married. It’s joyous news, but places all the planning for a high society wedding firmly at Amelia’s door.
Luckily, her good friend and local vicar Mr. Cross has agreed to the expedited nuptials, so that’s one less thing to worry about. Until Cross is found dead at the church. Now in between bridal arrangements, Amelia must follow the clues Mr. Cross left behind.
Clearly, he’d made some enemies during his parishioner work, as strange mishaps begin to occur wherever Amelia goes. But when the danger becomes all too real, Amelia must rely on her friends and the handsome Simon Bainbridge to help solve the murder, save the wedding, and Amelia’s life too . . .
Perfect for fans of witty historical mystery and Regency romances with a similar feel to Verity Bright and T.E. Kinsey.
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Mary Winters is the Edgar Award-nominated author of the Lady of Letters historical mystery series. Book one, Murder in Postscript, was a finalist for the Mary Higgins Clark Award. Mary is also the author of two cozy mystery series and writes short fiction. Her stories have appeared in Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine and Black Cat Weekly. When she’s not writing, she’s teaching, reading, or spending time with her family. She lives with her husband, daughters, and spoiled pets in the Midwest. Find out more about Mary at MaryWintersAuthor.com.
Author Links: Website / Blog / Facebook / Instagram
Purchase Links
Amaz0n
Barnes & Noble
Bookshop
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TOUR PARTICIPANTS
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October 20 – Reading Is My SuperPower – REVIEW
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Book Details:
Stones River: A Civil War Story of Courage, Sacrifice, and an Otherworldly Love
by M.F. Jones
Category: Adult Fiction (18 yrs +), 302 pages
Genre: Historical fiction with a supernatural love story at its heart.
Publisher: Fieldwood Books
Release date: Sep 27, 2025
Content Rating: PG-13 + M: The novel has a married sex scene that is intimate though does not have explicit details. There is no profanity in the book, except for mild curses like “damn” and “hell.”
Book Description:
When Jessie Gibbs meets Lemuel Sanders, she thinks she has finally found her ideal man—until she discovers that he is the ghost of a Civil War soldier. For 144 years, Lem has kept vigil at his unmarked battlefield grave, seeking someone to complete a personal mission so he can go to his final rest. As love grows between them, Jessie is torn. If she succeeds in fulfilling Lem’s wish, she’ll lose him when he passes into the afterlife. But if she fails and he remains in the world, she’ll never be free to find intimacy with a living man.
A riveting story of faith, passion, and selfless devotion, STONES RIVER shows the power of love to overcome all obstacles—even death itself.
STONES RIVER is Book I of The Sentinel Heart Trilogy, with Book II, SOLDIER’S JOY, coming out in 2026!
Have you always wanted to be a writer?
I have loved stories and books my whole life, and in college I studied fiction writing with E. L. Doctorow and other celebrated writers. But self-criticism and a fear of failing at what I most desired blocked my efforts.
Still, wanting to make literature my career, I became an editor. I loved working with writers, though I always felt a yearning to be one of them. In 2005, in a wave of corporate downsizing throughout publishing, I was laid off. I told myself the time had come to try to make my writing dream a reality.
What was the inspiration for Stones River and its sequels?
My husband, a professional trumpeter, played in a Civil War-style band in the early 2000s and I went along with him to events. One night at a reenactment of the Battle of Gettysburg, I walked around the vast Union camp and marveled at the authenticity of the scene— white tents glowing throughout the forest, firelight and candles the only illumination, horses and mules tied among the trees, groups of “soldiers” chatting or playing fifes around campfires. No modern technology spoiled the 19th century illusion.
I suddenly had an inspiration: What if a young woman at an event like this wandered away from camp, and met someone she took to be a fellow reenactor–handsome, with an old-fashioned courtesy, in every way the kind of man she had almost given up hope of finding? And then she discovered that he was the spirit of a Civil War soldier who had died 144 years earlier.
It was a huge risk for Jessie to enter into a relationship with a ghost. Likewise, it was a huge risk for me to confront my fear of failure and commit myself to writing Jessie and Lem’s story. But once I began, the novel flowed. I was compelled to follow the lovers, and other characters in Stones River, in two sequels, Soldier’s Joy and Bright Canaan.
Is there a theme that unites all three books in the series?
All the books in my Sentinel Heart Trilogy have one theme at their heart: that death is not the end. It doesn’t end relationships, in that we continue to feel the presence of those we’ve loved and lost. We remember them at every milestone in our life, and we may even seek their guidance when faced with important choices.
Because of the early, shocking loss of my beloved father, I found consolation in imagining a world in which the spirits of the dead can actually be present with those who loved them. In Stones River, Jessie finds a passionate love with Lem, and helps to free him from his earthly vigil even though it means losing him to the afterlife. Or so she thinks–but in Book II of the trilogy, Soldier’s Joy (to be published in early 2026), Lem is still watching over Jessie and his newly-discovered 21st century relatives from the spiritual realm. At great risk to himself he can even re-enter the mortal world to protect them. His main mission is to help his great-great-great nephew, Avery Gowan, recover from the trauma of the Iraq war, and to bring Avery together with the woman whose love will help him fully heal. Book III, Bright Canaan, (Spring 2027) tells the stories of the five women who have loved Lem—his mother, sister, and 19th century sweetheart, and, in the 21st century, Jessie and Sally Gowan, Avery’s mother. One of them enables Lem to find eternal peace at last.
What’s your definition of success?
My definition of success is to keep on writing, and to give readers the same experience of losing themselves in a story that has made reading my lifelong joy.
Meet Author M.F. Jones:
Before beginning to write full-time in 2008, M. F. (Mimi) Jones was an editor at Viking Press, where she discovered Judith Guest’s bestseller ORDINARY PEOPLE in the slush pile and became its editor. She went on to senior editorial positions at Redbook, Family Circle, and Reader’s Digest magazines. In addition to writing, she’s a devotee of reading, knitting (while listening to audiobooks), choral singing, and hiking with her rescue dog, Ruby. She lives in Tennessee with her husband, composer Douglas Hedwig.
STONES RIVER by M.F. Jones Book Tour Giveaway
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Jane Austen’s Dowries and Dalliances: A Literary Card Game
from Samantha L. Hastings
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Jane Austen’s Dowries and Dalliances: A Literary Card Game
Format: Games
Publication Date: 10/7/2025
ISBN: 9781797235578
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Hours of fun for Jane Austen fans of all ages: This literary card game features simple and satisfying gameplay with a beautifully illustrated deck full of favorite characters from all of the novels.
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Hold on to heroines like Emma Woodhouse and Anne Elliot to win the highest dowry as you gossip with Mrs. Bennet to gain insight into another player’s hand, send an opponent’s card eloping with John Yates to remove it from play, or use Mr. Darcy’s refusal to dance to skip the next player’s turn. Whether you steal, snub, trade, or quadrille your way to the end of the round, try not to be left with the Old Maid!
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LITERARY TWIST ON CLASSIC CARD GAME: Marriage is the name of the game in this Jane Austen-inspired game of trading, stealing, and claiming cards. Never be satisfied with less: Claim the highest dowry to win!
JANE AUSTEN FOREVER: Celebrate Jane Austen’s 250th anniversary with this unique homage to her beloved novels. Illustrations by Meghann Rader bring each character to life, capturing the romance and eccentricity that make Austen’s books stand the test of time.
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GREAT FUN FOR LITERATURE LOVERS: This smart, elegant card game has Jane Austen trivia built in, with Dowry cards and Action cards inspired by each character’s role in Austen’s literary universe and a booklet full of character fun facts. Endeavor to keep company with the likes of Elizabeth Bennet, Elinor Dashwood, or Fanny Price to gain access to a valuable dowry sum. Border on rudeness with Frank Churchill, Lady Catherine de Bourgh, or John Thorpe to shake up the gameplay. Or fan the flames of scandal by ‘eloping’ with another player’s card, in the vein of George Wickham or Penelope Clay. There’s endless fun to be had.
BRILLIANT GIFT: This card game is easy enough to play with the whole family or as a book club diversion, and it makes a charming present for Janeites and other book lovers in your life.
Perfect for:
Purchase from
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Samantha Hastings met her husband in a turkey sandwich line. They live in Salt Lake City, Utah, where she spends most of her time reading, having tea parties, and chauffeuring her four kids. She teaches World Literature at Brigham Young University. Her young adult fiction books are Junior Library Guild Gold Standard selections and her historical romances are published around the world. She also writes murder mysteries under Samantha Larsen that Publisher’s Weekly called “wildly enjoyable.”
Author Links
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Welcome to my stop on the virtual book tour for Letters Take The Lady organized by Goddess Fish Promotions.
Author Anna Valleria will be awarding a $15 Amazon or B&N Gift Card to a randomly drawn winner. Don’t forget to enter!
And you can click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.
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Letters Take The Lady
By Anna Valleria
Genre: Historical Romance
Synopsis
Antigone Sprague, the spirited daughter of a gentleman scholar, has no patience for arrogant lords. So when she meets the reserved and bitingly clever Lord Michael Northram, she’s immediately put off by his condescending manner. She has no idea that he is utterly captivated.
Tongue-tied and overwhelmed by a passion he doesn’t understand, Michael can only confess his feelings in secret poems never meant to see the light of day. But when Antigone begins receiving those very poems from a charming and ambitious suitor, she believes she’s found the man who understands her soul. Believing he has lost her forever, a heartbroken Michael accepts a diplomatic mission to America, unaware that the woman he loves has actually fallen for his words.
Years later, his return to England ignites a shocking reunion and an undeniable spark. But their second chance is built on a foundation of lies. When the truth of the letters emerges, it exposes a scheme of shocking deception, and her spurned suitor reveals a desperate and dangerous side, threatening her very freedom. To win her trust, Michael must finally bridge the gap between the poet on the page and the man by her side, proving he is the hero she’s always deserved.
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Enjoy this exclusive peek inside:
As he lay in bed that night, the restlessness became almost unbearable. He rose, hearing the faint stirring of the household just waking up, and he guessed that it must be some time in the early morning. He glanced out the window, and saw a muted sky, just on the cusp of dawn. All the stars were gone, all but one, shining dimly, blinking, but refusing to go. He found himself almost smiling at that star, feeling a tenderness for it he could not quite explain. He suddenly knew what the urge was, and he used the oncoming dawn to light his writing, as he composed with his left hand:
I shall not compare thee to a summer’s day.
For thou art far more enduring than she.
Much more like the morning star,
The last beacon of the weary traveler
Who is journeying into daybreak
The star that shines the brightest
Against the long dark night
The heavenly body one may count on
In those hateful hours of loneliness
To light the toil of the worker at dawn
Or the poet who sleep will not bless
In those early morning moments
Before the reprieve of daylight.
Yet I do not compare you to the sun,
For your light shines brightest in the dark
And will return, night after night,
No matter the petty squabbles of man
Nor the insignificant news of the day
Your light will shine on, enduring
On the unknowing earth below
He had never written anything like it before. He reread it slowly. While it had some truth to it, he feared it was sentimental drivel. He had given no real thought to the meter or the rhyming scheme. He counted the syllables. No, it was completely off. What had he been thinking? He supposed, like all the stories he composed, it was an outlet, a way to process his feelings in a way he was not able to do in life. Thank goodness no one would recognize it, for his ready defense of his handwriting was still true. If he was ever found out, if he did not first perish of mortification over a one-sided attraction, he would certainly die of shame for his bad poetry.
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About Author Anna Valleria:
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Anna Valleria writes historical romance that is sweet with steam. Her stories have been praised for their rich, realistic tone and aching romanticism, reminiscent of classic romance novels. She crafts deeply layered characters, like the honorable heroes and resilient heroines in her Victorian Historical Rogues Fall First series, that will remind you why you fell in love with romance in the first place. Anna was also a runner-up in Dragonblade Publishing’s 2024 “Write Track” Writing Contest, soon to be seen in the Tales of Timeless Love Vol. 4.
A lifelong lover of coffee and writing in cafes, she finds inspiration in the historic city that she lives in.
Visit her website to sign up for her newsletter for exclusive updates and sneak peeks.
Website / Facebook / Pinterest
Buy Link: Amazon
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Deadly Village: A World War II Mystery
(The Deadly Series)
by Kate Parker
Deadly Village: A World War II Mystery (The Deadly Series)
Historical Cozy Mystery
13th in Series
Setting – Cotswold village of Chipping Ford
Publisher : JDP Press
Accessibility : Learn more
Publication date : August 19, 2025
Number of Pages ~300
ISBN-13 : 979-8992015249
ASIN : B0FJGJMGQZ
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In a village steeped in secrets, one woman’s past is the key to solving a murder.
Olivia Redmond thought she’d left danger behind in blitzed-out London. But the quiet Cotswold village of Chipping Ford offers little refuge–especially when a local gossip turns up dead. With a baby to care for and the villagers turning frosty, Olivia’s only ally is a young bobby overwhelmed by his first murder case.
As a former newspaper reporter and covert asset for Britain’s intelligence chief, Olivia knows how to uncover the truth. The deeper she digs, the uglier it gets: blackmail, betrayal, and decades of whispered sins. And as the village closes ranks, Olivia must choose–keep the peace or expose the secrets that could shatter everything.
Perfect for readers of historical mysteries with sharp heroines and tangled moral landscapes, Deadly Village is the exciting thirteenth book in the World War II mystery Deadly Series. If you like research based history and clean reads, then you’ll love USA Today Bestselling Author Kate Parker’s page-turning mystery.
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Kate Parker has long wanted to build a time travel machine. However, after several false starts, she gave up and created time travel by going back in time inside her books. Since she’s fond of murder mysteries, it is probably best that all of her travel is inside books or police from various ages would be hunting her. When not recreating old time buildings and fashions, she can be found with a modern computer and modern air conditioning in North Carolina with her daughter and a 115 lb. puppy who could just crash through any time barrier.
Author Links: Website / Facebook
Purchase Links – Amazon – B&N – Apple – Kobo
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TOUR PARTICIPANTS
September 2 – Jody’s Bookish Haven – SPOTLIGHT
September 2 – Reading, Writing & Stitch-Metic – AUTHOR GUEST POST
September 2 – Books, Ramblings, and Tea – SPOTLIGHT
September 3 – Novels Alive – REVIEW
September 3 – Maureen’s Musings – SPOTLIGHT
September 4 – Cozy Up With Kathy – REVIEW
September 4 – MJB Reviewers – SPOTLIGHT
September 4 – Christy’s Cozy Corners – REVIEW
September 5 – Baroness Book Trove – SPOTLIGHT
September 5 – Sarandipity’s – CHARACTER INTERVIEW
September 5 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – SPOTLIGHT
September 6 – Reading Is My SuperPower – AUTHOR GUEST POST
September 6 – Boys’ Mom Reads! – SPOTLIGHT
September 6 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT
September 7 – Sapphyria’s Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
September 7 – fundinmental – SPOTLIGHT
September 8 – Sarah Can’t Stop Reading Books – SPOTLIGHT
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Thanks so much for visiting fuonlyknew and Good Luck!
For a list of my reviews go HERE.
To see all of my giveaways go HERE.
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In the underworlds,
injustice always reigns: Join us and our damnedest poets for the crookedest
poetry festival in perdition where language comes to die and no rhyme goes
unpunished.
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Poets in Hell
A Heroes in Hell Anthology
Compiled by Janet Morris
Genre: Dark Epic Historical Fantasy
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The best, the worst, and ugliest bards in perdition vie for
Satan’s favor as poets slam one another, Satan’s Fallen Angels smirk up their
sleeves, and the illiterati have their day. Find out why the damned deserve
their fates as Hell’s hacks sink to new poetical depths!
The first Bible writer drafts a deal with the Devil.
Attila the Hun learns his punishment’s just begun.
Mary Shelley and Victor Frankenstein make a monstrous
mistake.
Bat Masterson and Wyatt Earp get their unjust deserts.
Hell’s Undertaker goes on holiday.
The Damned Poets Society slams away.
A nameless soul shows Dorothy Parker that fame is a bitch.
In the underworlds,
injustice always reigns:
Join us and our damnedest poets for the crookedest poetry
festival in perdition where language comes to die and no rhyme goes unpunished.
Stories inside:
Words – Chris Morris
Seven Against Hell – Janet Morris and Chris Morris
Reunion – Nancy Asire
Hell-hounds – Bruce Durham
The Kid with No Name
– Jack William Finley
All Hell to Pay – Deborah Koren
Poetic Injustice – Larry Atchley, Jr.
When You Gaze Into an
Abyss – Matthew Kirshenblatt
Pride and Penance – Tom Barczak
Grand Slam – pdmac
Undertaker’s Holiday
– Joe Bonadonna and Shebat Legion
Red Tail’s Corner – Yelle Hughes
Faust III – Richard Groller
Tapestry of Sorrows
and Sighs – Bill Snider
Haiku d’État – Beth W. Patterson
A Mother’s Heart – Bill Barnhill
We the Furious – Joe Bonadonna
Damned Poets Society
– Michael H. Hanson
All We Need of Hell –
Michael A. Armstrong
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**On Sale until the end of the month!**
Amazon * B&N
* Bookbub
* Goodreads
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In the beginning was the Logos, the Word. In the beginning come always the words. Words are the mortar of the mind.
“Look, you!” J the Yahwist, first author of the Old Testament, exhorted empty air, waving her hands about her on a blasted heath encircled by dark and cold.
As in ancient times, this command brings light out of darkness, souls out of nowhere. All the heath fills with them, the detritus of the damned, singing and keening and rhyming aloud at the top of their lungs, each trying to outshout the other: the prolix, the wordy damned of perdition. Here are the teeming illiterati, the poor poets of pride and ignorance, angry and bleating like sheep at the altar, romancers of death, hoping for slaughter, dreaming of surcease.
J would give them peace if she could, but she couldn’t: peace was oblivion, oblivion was escape, and escape was unattainable in hell. Death could be had, and cheap, but never lasted long: no sinning soul could win its way to heaven’s grace.
J’s god reigned as a jealous god, tempestuous; unfair, equivocal. As her skin glowed caramel, neither white nor yellow, brown or black, so her eyes were inconclusively hazel, flecking every color in creation. Like her god on high, set up from eternity before the earth was made, she belonged nowhere in damnation, not to this New Hell nor any other. She was only visiting here. Or so she thought; so she hoped.
“Look, you,” J called a second time aloud, and a thousand heads turned her way; a thousand mouths clamped shut as she began to tell her tale to their minds’ eyes.
Invariably, these words are her signal to infernity that she is ready to begin. Inevitably, those words summon not only story, but the Deceiver, a lord of hell himself.
Sensing joy, incensed by pleasure, now comes Satan, white- winged and glorious, amid his host of fallen angels, circling to land, streaming intolerance and wrath on all the fools below, who howl the more.
At times like these, J misses Solomon. That wise warrior-king (her fellow writer of words worth hearing) would enjoin even such rabble as this to vie with the lords of hell themselves, if she’d but ask him.
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What is something unique/quirky about you?
Together we breed Morgan horses. We consult with Morgan breeders to help them choose crosses to their stock to achieve a desired result.
We are also musicians; Janet plays bass guitar, Chris sings and plays guitar. We have an album on MCA records. Look for Christopher Crosby Morris on Soundcloud or N1M.com
Can you, for those who don’t know you already, tell something about yourself and how you became an author?
Janet wrote her first novel, High Couch of Silistra in 1975; a friend sent it to an agent who chose to represent her; she had already written the second book in the Silistra Quartet and her agent told her not to disclose that until they finalized the contract for the first one. When the publisher learned of the others, Bantam Books bought the succeeding three. When the fourth book was published, the series already had four million copies in print. Suddenly Janet was a novelist specializing in environmental, gender, historical and political subjects. In the process, Chris started as her editor and ultimately a co-writer. Since then, she and Chris have co-authored many books.
Who is your hero and why?
Heraclitus of Ephesus, a pre-socratic philosopher, whose Cosmic Fragments foreshadow our knowledge of reality and how to perceive it. Among his precepts is the statement that change alone is unchanging. We’ve worked Heraclitus’ fragments in here and there throughout our books.
Which of your novels can you imagine being made into a movie?
All of them. We write cinematically, our books are vivid adventures we undertake without knowing the destination. I, the Sun, The Sacred Band, and Outpassage are particularly suited to film. The Threshold Series is a feast of opportunities for today’s special effects creators.
What inspired you, to create Poets in Hell?
If you are watching the news these days, it’s hard to tell the difference between what we thought of as normal and something a lot worse. Hellish, you might say. We even think of the Hell series as comic relief from our troubled world. We hope you agree.
Advice to writers?
As for advice to writers, here is all we know: write the story you want to read. Start at the beginning, go to the end, and stop. Seriously. From start to finish you must inhabit the construct in a manner that makes the reader choose to continue; if we as writers can’t feel what it’s like being there, our readers can’t either. Close your eyes, look at your feet where they are standing on the story’s ground; tell us what you see. Tell us what you hear. Ask at the end of each paragraph ‘what happens next?’. If you lose touch with it wait until you’re back inside it. Tell the story that comes to you, and from you, to us.
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Best selling author Janet
Morris began writing in 1976 and has since published more than 30 novels,
many co-authored with her husband Chris Morris or others. Most of her fiction
work has been in the fantasy and science fiction genres, although she has also
written historical and other novels. Morris has written, contributed to, or
edited several book-length works of non-fiction, as well as papers and articles
on nonlethal weapons, developmental military technology and other defense and
national security topics.
Christopher Crosby
Morris (born 1946) is an American author of fiction and non-fiction, as
well as a lyricist, musical composer, and singer-songwriter. He is married to
author Janet Morris. He is a defense policy and strategy analyst and a
principal in M2 Technologies, Inc. He writes primarily as Chris Morris, but
occasionally uses pseudonyms.
Website * Facebook * Twitter * Instagram * Bookbub * Bookbub
Amazon * Amazon * Goodreads * Goodreads
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Follow the tour HERE for special content and a giveaway!
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Thanks so much for visiting fuonlyknew and Good Luck!
For a list of my reviews go HERE.
To see all of my giveaways go HERE.
