Guest Post: “Spotlight for ‘The Falconer’s Apprentice’ by Malve von Hassell

On April 23, 2024April 21, 2024 By hmalagisiIn guest post1 Comment

I am pleased to welcome Malve von Hassell to my blog today to share a spotlight for her novel, “The Falconer’s Apprentice.” I want to thank The Coffee Pot Book Club and Malve von Hassell for allowing me to be part of this blog tour.

Blurb:

THE FALCONER’S APPRENTICE is a story of adventure and intrigue set in the intense social and political unrest of the Holy Roman Empire in the thirteenth century.

“That bird should be destroyed!”

Andreas stared at Ethelbert in shock. Blood from an angry-looking gash on the young lord’s cheek dripped onto his embroidered tunic. Andreas clutched the handles of the basket containing the young peregrine. Perhaps this was a dream—

Andreas, an apprentice falconer at Castle Kragenberg, cannot bear the thought of killing the young female falcon and smuggles her out of the castle. Soon he realizes that his own time there has come to an end, and he stows away, with the bird, in the cart of an itinerant trader, Richard of Brugge.

So begins a series of adventures that lead him from an obscure castle in northern Germany to the farthest reaches of Frederick von Hohenstaufen’s Holy Roman Empire, following a path dictated by the wily trader’s mysterious mission. Andreas continues to improve his falconry skills, but he also learns to pay attention to what is happening around him as he travels through areas fraught with political unrest.

Eventually, Richard confides in Andreas, and they conspire to free Enzio, the eldest of the emperor’s illegitimate sons, from imprisonment in Bologna.

Buy Links:

This title is available to read on #KindleUnlimited.

Universal Buy Link: https://books2read.com/u/31BMjD

Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-falconers-apprentice-malve-von-hassell/1121105739?ean=9781737101185/

Author Bio:

Malve von Hassell is a freelance writer, researcher, and translator. She holds a Ph.D. in anthropology from the New School for Social Research. Working as an independent scholar, she published The Struggle for Eden: Community Gardens in New York City (Bergin & Garvey 2002) and Homesteading in New York City 1978-1993: The Divided Heart of Loisaida (Bergin & Garvey 1996). She has also edited her grandfather Ulrich von Hassell’s memoirs written in prison in 1944, Der Kreis schließt sich – Aufzeichnungen aus der Haft 1944 (Propylaen Verlag 1994).

She has taught at Queens College, Baruch College, Pace University, and Suffolk County Community College while continuing her work as a translator and writer.

Malve has published two children’s picture books, Tooth Fairy (Amazon KDP 2012/2020), and Turtle Crossing (Amazon KDP 2023), and her translation and annotation of a German children’s classic by Tamara Ramsay, Rennefarre: Dott’s Wonderful Travels and Adventures (Two Harbors Press, 2012).

The Falconer’s Apprentice (2015/KDP 2024) was her first historical fiction novel for young adults. She has published Alina: A Song for the Telling (BHC Press, 2020), set in Jerusalem in the time of the Crusades, and The Amber Crane (Odyssey Books, 2021), set in Germany in 1645 and 1945, as well as a biographical work about a woman coming of age in Nazi Germany, Tapestry of My Mother’s Life: Stories, Fragments, and Silences (Next Chapter Publishing, 2021), also available in German, Bildteppich Eines Lebens: Erzählungen Meiner Mutter, Fragmente Und Schweigen (Next Chapter Publishing, 2022), and is working on a historical fiction trilogy featuring Adela of Blois.

Author Links:

Website: https://www.malvevonhassell.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/MvonHassell

Facebook author page: https://www.facebook.com/malvevonhassellauthor/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/malve-von-hassell-02b61517/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mvonhassell/

Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/malvevonhassell.bsky.social

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/471746.Malve_von_Hassell

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/malve-von-hassell

Amazon author link: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Malve-von-Hassell/author/B0CTGLDQ7P/

Book Review: “The Dartington Bride” by Rosemary Griggs

On April 9, 2024April 9, 2024 By hmalagisiIn Book Reviews, guest post1 Comment

The 16th century was known for its dramatic changes in religious issues. None more so than during the late Tudor dynasty especially during the reign of Elizabeth I. However, France also saw the religious pendulum swing between Protestantism and Catholicism. Many families from all walks of life were caught in religious squabbles, like the Montgomery family. Lady Gabrielle Roberda Montgomery found herself in the middle of the drama and was forced to marry into a prominent Devon family in Elizabethan England, far from her native France. Roberda’s extraordinary story is told masterfully in Rosemary Griggs’ latest novel, “The Dartington Bride.”

I would like to thank Rosemary Griggs and The Coffee Pot Book Club for allowing me to take part in this blog tour with a book review. I thoroughly enjoyed Griggs’ debut novel, “ A Woman of Noble Wit,” so when I heard that she was writing a new novel, it was intriguing to me. I had never heard of Lady Gabrielle Roberda Montgomery before reading this novel, so I was excited to learn more about her life.

Lady Gabrielle Roberda Montgomery was the daughter of Gabriel de Lorges, Count of Montgomery, Lord of Lorges and Ducey, and his wife Isabeau de la Touche. Her father was the captain of the Scots Guard during the reign of King Henri II of France, but everything changed in 1559, when he accidentally struck the king in the eye with a lance, killing the king. The Montgomery family must make tough choices to survive and fight with Louis I de Bourbon, Prince de Conde in the French Wars of Religion and survive the St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre.

To make sure Roberda is safe and secure, her parents arrange a marriage alliance with Sir Arthur Champernowne. Roberda marries Gawen Champernowne, a rough brute of a man, who is jealous of not only his young wife and how she looks at other men but is jealous of men like Sir Francis Drake who can get all the glory while he stays in the shadows as a spy for Walsingham. Roberda has a difficult marriage, but she gets along with her father-in-law Sir Arthur Champernowne, and her friend Anne Cecil at Dartington Hall. Roberda is a great mother to her growing family and helps Huguenot refugees start again in England. However perfect her life may look on the outside, Gawen remains jealous and decides that the only way to quell his anger is through divorcing his faithful wife.

This is another brilliant novel by Rosemary Griggs highlighting a woman from the Elizabethan age who has for centuries lived in the shadows of the past. I loved how Griggs was able to take a woman who has been a footnote in history and give her a beautiful yet heartbreaking tale of love and tragedy. I cannot wait to see who Rosemary Griggs will write about next. If you want a gripping novel about a lesser-known lady living in the Elizabethan age, you should check out, “The Darington Bride” by Rosemary Griggs.

Blurb:

1571, and the beautiful, headstrong daughter of a French Count marries the son of the Vice Admiral of the Fleet of the West in Queen Elizabeth’s chapel at Greenwich. It sounds like a marriage made in heaven…

Roberda’s father, the Count of Montgomery, is a prominent Huguenot leader in the French Wars of Religion. When her formidable mother follows him into battle, she takes all her children with her.

After a traumatic childhood in war-torn France, Roberda arrives in England full of hope for her wedding. But her ambitious bridegroom, Gawen, has little interest in taking a wife.

Received with suspicion by the servants at her new home, Dartington Hall in Devon, Roberda works hard to prove herself as mistress of the household and to be a good wife. But there are some who will never accept her as a true daughter of Devon.

After the St Bartholomew’s Day Massacre, Gawen’s father welcomes Roberda’s family to Dartington as refugees. Compassionate Roberda is determined to help other French women left destitute by the wars. But her husband does not approve. Their differences will set them on an extraordinary path…

Buy Links:

Universal Buy Link: https://rosemarygriggs.co.uk/books/2/The%20Dartington%20Bride/

Author Bio:

Author and speaker Rosemary Griggs has been researching Devon’s sixteenth-century history for years. She has discovered a cast of fascinating characters and an intriguing network of families whose influence stretches far beyond the West Country and loves telling the stories of the forgotten women of history – the women beyond the royal court; wives, sisters, daughters, and mothers who played their part during those tumultuous Tudor years: the Daughters of Devon.

Her novel A Woman of Noble Wit tells the story of Katherine Champernowne, Sir Walter Raleigh’s mother, and features many of the county’s well-loved places.

Rosemary creates and wears sixteenth-century clothing, a passion that complements her love for bringing the past to life through a unique blend of theatre, history, and re-enactment. Her appearances and talks for museums and community groups all over the West Country draw on her extensive research into sixteenth-century Devon, Tudor life, and Tudor dress, particularly Elizabethan.

Out of costume, Rosemary leads heritage tours of the gardens at Dartington Hall, a fourteenth-century manor house and now a visitor destination and charity supporting learning in arts, ecology, and social justice.

Author Links:

Website:https://rosemarygriggs.co.uk/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/RAGriggsauthor

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ladykatherinesfarthingale

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/griggs6176/

Threads: https://www.threads.net/@griggs6176

Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/ragriggsauthor.bsky.social

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Rosemary-Griggs/author/B09GY6ZSYF

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/21850977.Rosemary_Griggs

Guest Post: “Spotlight for ‘Riddle of the Gods’ by Eric Schumacher

On March 26, 2024March 24, 2024 By hmalagisiIn guest post1 Comment

I am pleased to welcome Eric Schumacher to my blog today to share a spotlight for his novel, “Riddle of the Gods.” I would like to thank Eric Schumacher and The Coffee Pot Book Club for allowing me to be part of this blog tour.

Blurb:

Riddle of the Gods is the riveting fourth novel in the best-selling series chronicling the life and adventures of one of Norway’s most controversial kings, Olaf Tryggvason.

It is AD 976. Olaf Tryggvason, the renegade prince of Norway, has lost his beloved wife to a tragedy that turns the lords of the land he rules against him. With his family gone and his future uncertain, Olaf leaves his realm and embarks on a decades-long quest to discover his course in life. Though his journey brings him power and wealth, it is not until he encounters the strange man in the streets of Dublin that his path to fame unfolds. And in that moment, he is forced to make a choice as the gods look on – a choice that could, at worst, destroy him and at best, ensure his name lives on forever.

Buy Links:

This book is available to read on #KindleUnlimited.

Universal Buy Link: https://mybook.to/Riddleofthegods

Author Bio:

Eric Schumacher (1968 – ) is a historical fiction author of multiple best-selling novels set in the Viking Age. From a young age, Schumacher was drawn to books about medieval kings and warlords and was fascinated by their stories and the turbulent times in which they lived. It is a fascination that led to the publication of his first novel, God’s Hammer, in 2005, and many subsequent novels after that.

Schumacher now resides in Santa Barbara with his wife and two children and is busy working on his next novel.

Author Links:

Website: www.ericschumacher.net

Twitter: https://twitter.com/DarkAgeScribe

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EricSchumacherAuthor

Book Bub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/eric-schumacher

Amazon Author Page: https://author.to/EricSchumacher

Guest Post: “Excerpt from ‘The Royal Women Who Made England’ by MJ Porter

On March 19, 2024March 17, 2024 By hmalagisiIn guest post1 Comment

I am pleased to welcome MJ Porter to my blog to share an excerpt from her nonfiction book, “The Royal Women Who Made England.” I would like to thank MJ Porter and The Coffee Pot Book Club for allowing me to be part of this blog tour.

Ælfthryth, the daughter of King Alfred and Lady Ealhswith – The Continental Connection

The union between Ælfthryth and Count Baldwin II is believed to have taken place sometime between Asser’s writing [of Alfred’s life] and the death of Alfred in 899. As Æthelweard’s Chronicon informs, Ælfthryth was married to Count Baldwin II of Flanders (879–918). Count Baldwin II was the son of Alfred’s stepmother, Judith, through her third marriage to Baldwin, Count of Flanders, with whom she eloped in 860, against her father’s wishes. Perhaps this was a love match that had been denied her before. Judith had previously been married to Æthelwulf, King of Wessex, Alfred’s father, and also to Æthelbald, King of Wessex, Alfred’s brother. There is no record of children born to these unions.

Judith was a daughter of Charles the Bald (823–877), who in turn was the son of Louis the Pious (773–840), a son of Charlemagne (c.742–814). Charles the Bald was king of the Franks from 840–877 and emperor from 875–877.

Blurb:

Throughout the tenth century, England, as it would be recognized today, formed. No longer many Saxon kingdoms, but rather, just England. Yet, this development masks much in the century in which the Viking raiders were seemingly driven from England’s shores by Alfred, his children, and grandchildren, only to return during the reign of his great, great-grandson, the much-maligned Æthelred II.

Not one but two kings would be murdered, others would die at a young age, and a child would be named king on four occasions. Two kings would never marry, and a third would be forcefully divorced from his wife. Yet, the development of ‘England’ did not stop. At no point did it truly fracture back into its constituent parts. Who then ensured this stability? To whom did the witan turn when kings died, and children were raised to the kingship?

The royal woman of the House of Wessex came into prominence during the century, perhaps the most well-known being Æthelflæd, daughter of King Alfred. Perhaps the most maligned being Ælfthryth (Elfrida), accused of murdering her stepson to clear the path to the kingdom for her son, Æthelred II, but there were many more women, rich and powerful in their own right, where their names and landholdings can be traced in the scant historical record.

Using contemporary source material, The Royal Women Who Made England can be plucked from the obscurity that has seen their names and deeds lost, even within a generation of their own lives.

Buy Links:

Universal Buy Link: https://books2read.com/TheRoyalWomenWhoMadeEngland

Publisher Link: https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/The-Royal-Women-Who-Made-England-Hardback/p/24395

Author Bio:

MJ Porter is the author of over fifty fiction titles set in Saxon England and the era before the tumultuous events 1066. Raised in the shadow of a strange little building and told from a young age that it housed the long-dead bones of Saxon kings, it’s little wonder that the study of the era was undertaken at both undergraduate and graduate levels.

The Royal Women of the Tenth Century is the first non-fiction title. It explores this period’s ‘lost’ women through the surviving contemporary source material. It stemmed from a frustration with how difficult it was to find a single volume dedicated to these ‘lost’ women and hopes to make it much easier for others to understand the prestige, wealth, and influence of the women of the royal House of Wessex.

Author Links:

Website: www.mjporterauthor.com/ or www.mjporterauthor.blog

Twitter: www.twitter.com/coloursofunison

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MJPorterauthor/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mj-porterauthor/

Instagram: instagram.com/m_j_porter/

Threads: https://www.threads.net/@m_j_porter

Bluesky: mjporterauthor.bsky.social

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.co.uk/coloursofunison/

Book Bub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/mj-porter

Amazon Author Page: www.amazon.com/MJ-Porter/e/B006N8K6X4

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7163404.M_J_Porter

TikTok: tiktok.com/@mjporterauthor

LinkTree: https://linktr.ee/MJPorterauthor

Guest Post: “Excerpt and Recipe from the ‘Chateau de Verzat Series’ by Debra Borchert”

On March 15, 2024March 10, 2024 By hmalagisiIn guest post1 Comment

Today, I am pleased to welcome Debra Borchert to share an excerpt and a recipe from her series, “The Chateau de Verzat Series.” I want to thank Debra Borchert and The Coffee Pot Book Club for allowing me to be part of this tour.

Her Own Legacy, Versailles, December 13, 1788

Joliette Meets Guillaume

Maman guided me toward a man so old, he could be my grandpapa. My arms tensed. She could not possibly think that old man appropriate.

Papa strode toward us. “May I have your first dance, ma princesse?”

Relief washed through me.

Maman frowned. “Bring her right back. She has many introductions.”

He took my hand and led me toward a group of dancers.

“Merci, Papa,” I whispered.

He winked, led me to the lead position, and danced me about the Galerie. As the lead couple, we whirled with and between the dancers. Papa’s warm smile and strong leading steps relaxed me, and I enjoyed myself. He led me to greet the last couple. I turned to offer my hand to the next gentleman and his green eyes—bright as grapevines during bud break—startled me.

I forgot the movement and faltered. I searched to locate Maman. Had she seen? She would have me dancing twelve hours a day after this.

Without missing a beat, he rescued my wayward hand and adroitly led it to its next position. My hands grew moist inside my gloves. His steps and arms were strong, like Papa’s, but dancing with Papa had not made me breathless. The mirrors spun shards of light as he led me through the twisting rosettes. I dizzied as he returned me to Papa. Perspiration coated my face, and I fluttered my fan to dry it.

The man wore a frock coat and breeches of pale lavender silk with tiny bouquets of violets—so delicate and fine I expected them to have a scent—embroidered along his cuffs and hem. His ensemble resembled that of our King, yet the silk puckered beneath the embroidery—the fabric was inferior. He was working hard to fit in at Court, yet every courtier would notice his black shoes—without red heels. He had not been presented.

The allemande at an end, he turned to my father and bowed deeply. He unfurled from his bow and straightened to Papa’s height. “Comte de Verzat, I believe you are acquainted with my father, the Baron Pricaud?”

Papa’s eyebrow rose. “Ah…oh, yes, you are…?”

“Guillaume Pricaud.” He bowed, again. “It is an honor to meet the man who produces the finest wines in France, if not the world, Monsieur le Comte.”

Finest in the world? I leaned closer. The sounds of conversations, laughter, music all faded. His eau de Cologne smelled woodsy with a hint of lime.

Papa gave a tight smile. “May I present my daughter, Mademoiselle Joliette de Verzat?”

He bowed. My hand, of its own accord, sought his. As he held my fingers, his lips brushed my hand ever so gently. Damned protocol requiring gloves.

“Your mother’s beauty shines from within you, Mademoiselle.”

Words sat in my mouth like melting chocolate. I was supposed to thank him, but I could not summon a word. I held the fingers his lips had caressed.

“You remember my father, Comte?”

“We knew each other many years ago, when we were your age.”

Pricaud reached into his frock coat and withdrew a thick blue leather purse. “He asked me to deliver this.” With both his hands, he held it out to Papa. “My father wishes me to express his humble gratitude for your patience.”

Papa put up his hands. “Eh…that was so long ago. All is forgotten.”

“Not by my father.” He continued to present the purse.

Why did Papa refuse him? Pricaud’s demeanor, his manners, his tenacity, all impeccable. Neither of my parents could find fault with Pricaud. Nor could I. He never glanced at the emeralds at my neck. He knew of the Verzat legacy. Why had I not seen him at Court before?

“There is no need.” Papa shook his head.

Maman’s skirts brushed against mine. “Pardon, Monsieur.”

Pricaud withdrew the purse and dropped into a deep bow.

Maman inserted herself between me and Monsieur Pricaud, but she did not extend her hand. “My daughter and I have been summoned by the Queen.” She held my elbow and drew me away. “Forgive us, please.”

Joliette’s Chilled Fresh Pea Soup

While living in France, Joliette never cooked—she was far too busy fermenting wine. But when she and Henri arrived in America, she longed for dishes made by her beloved Cook. Joliette remembered afternoons, sitting at Cook’s battered wooden table, shelling peas for Cook’s sweet and velvety Chilled Fresh Pea Soup. This recipe is based on Joliette’s memories and my experimentations.

Serves 6–8

Ingredients

2 cups fresh or frozen peas sea salt (optional)

1 cup water fruity white balsamic vinegar (optional)*

a few sprigs of fresh mint

Process

Simmer peas in water until peas are tender.
Keeping the broth, drain peas and allow to cool.
Using an immersion blender, blitz the peas with enough of the cooking liquid for a consistency and thickness you like.
Add salt to taste. Chill.
Serve with a mint spear and a drizzle of a fruity white balsamic vinegar.

Notes

*My favorite fruity white balsamic vinegar is OMG!’s D’Anjou Pear White Balsamic Vinegar. See the Resources page.
This soup freezes well.

Blurb:

Her Own Legacy:

A Woman Fights for Her Legacy as the French Revolution Erupts

Determined to inherit her family’s vineyard, Countess Joliette de Verzat defies society’s rules, only to learn of her illegitimate half-brother, the rightful heir.

Her Own Revolution:

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. A suspenseful page-turner led by a renegade heroine whose compassion for innocent people leads to both loss and love.

Buy Links:

*Her Own Legacy will be only 0.99 in the UK, CA, and AU stores from March 5th – 15th, 2024!*

Universal Buy Links:

Her Own Legacy: https://books2read.com/u/bWYod1

Her Own Revolution: https://books2read.com/u/m0aJVl

Series Buy Links:

US: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0B9KN1536

UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0B9KN1536

Author Bio:

Debra is the author of the Château de Verzat 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 Legacy published in 2022, Her Own Revolution published in 2023, and Her Own War will be published in 2024. A passionate cook, she also wrote a companion cookbook to the series: Soups of Château de Verzat, A Culinary Tribute to the French Revolution, 2023.

A graduate of the Fashion Institute of Technology, she weaves her knowledge of textiles and clothing design throughout her historical fiction. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her family and standard poodle, named after a fine French Champagne.

Author Links:

Website: https://debraborchert.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/debraborchert

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DebraBorchertAuthor/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/debra-borchert-10b8305/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/debraborchertauthor/

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/debraborchert/

Book Bub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/debra-borchert

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Debra-Borchert/author/B00CSW9MH0

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7787729.Debra_Borchert

Guest Post: “Snippet from ‘A Matter of Time’ by Judith Arnopp”

On March 13, 2024March 13, 2024 By hmalagisiIn guest post2 Comments

I am pleased to welcome Judith Arnopp back to my blog to share a snippet from her latest novel. “A Matter of Time.” I would like to thank Judith Arnopp and The Coffee Pot Book Club for allowing me to be part of this blog tour.

June 1541 Henry and Katherine Howard on royal progress

Brandon is not with us this night, having ridden ahead to make preparation for our stay with him at Grimsthorpe, but I am content with Katherine beside me, a few musicians, and her favourite ladies and my closest gentlemen. We grow merry, the youngest members of the party dancing into the early hours. The music rises and falls, the fire crackles, while I sit and eat and watch, with my foot resting on a stool.

When they form up for the next dance, Katherine is partnered by Culpepper, and they make an elegant pairing. I look on enviously as the steps of the dance take them close together. Their elbows hook, and then they part again, Katherine’s hand reluctantly extended toward him as the dance dictates. Surrounded by the gaiety of the company, yet not part of it, I grow bored, longing for my bed. I’ve admitted to nobody how the journey is taking its toll, on both my health and my spirits. I close my eyes, rest my head on the back of my chair and thank God for the good company. The words of a song I wrote long ago jangle in my mind.

Pastime with good company

I love and shall until I die;

Blurb:

With youth now far behind him, King Henry VIII has only produced one infant son and two bastard daughters. More sons are essential to secure the Tudor line and with his third wife, Jane Seymour dead, Henry hunts for a suitable replacement.

After the break from Rome, trouble is brewing with France and Scotland. Thomas Cromwell arranges a diplomatic marriage with the sister of the Duke of Cleves but when it comes to women, Henry is fastidious, and the new bride does not please him. The increasingly unpredictable king sets his sights instead upon Katherine Howard and instructs Cromwell to free him from the match with Cleves.

Failure to rid the king of his unloved wife could cost Cromwell his head.

Henry, now ailing and aging, is invigorated by his flighty new bride but despite the favours he heaps upon her, he cannot win Katherine’s heart. A little over a year later, broken by her infidelity, she becomes the second of his wives to die on the scaffold, leaving Henry friendless and alone.

But his stout heart will not surrender and leaving his sixth wife, Katheryn Parr, installed as regent over England, Henry embarks on a final war to win back territories lost to the French more than a century before. Hungry for glory, the king is determined that the name Henry VIII will shine brighter and longer than that of his hero, Henry V.

Told from the king’s perspective, A Matter of Time: Henry VIII: the Dying of the Light shines a torch into the heart and mind of England’s most tyrannical king.

Buy Links:

Universal Buy Links to the three titles in the series:

A Matter of Conscience: https://mybook.to/amoc

A Matter of Faith: https://mybook.to/amofaith

A Matter of Time: https://mybook.to/amot

Author Bio:

A lifelong history enthusiast and avid reader, Judith holds a BA in English/Creative writing and an MA in Medieval Studies. She lives on the coast of West Wales where she writes both fiction and non-fiction. She is best known for her novels set in the Medieval and Tudor period, focusing on the perspective of historical women but recently she has been writing from the perspective of Henry VIII himself.

Judith is also a founder member of a re-enactment group called The Fyne Companye of Cambria which is when she began to experiment with sewing historical garments. She now makes clothes and accessories both for the group and others. She is not a professionally trained sewer but through trial, error and determination has learned how to make authentic-looking, if not strictly historically accurate clothing. Her non-fiction book, How to Dress like a Tudor was published by Pen and Sword in 2023.

Her novels include:

A Song of Sixpence: The Story of Elizabeth of York

The Beaufort Chronicle: The Life of Lady Margaret Beaufort (three-book series)

A Matter of Conscience: Henry VIII, the Aragon Years (Book One of The Henrician Chronicle)

A Matter of Faith: Henry VIII, the Days of the Phoenix (Book Two of The Henrician Chronicle)

A Matter of Time: Henry VIII, the Dying of the Light (Book Three, Coming soon)

The Kiss of the Concubine: A Story of Anne Boleyn

The Winchester Goose: at the court of Henry VIII

Intractable Heart: The Story of Katheryn Parr

Sisters of Arden: on the Pilgrimage of Grace

The Heretic Wind: The Life of Mary Tudor, Queen of England

Peaceweaver

The Forest Dwellers

The Song of Heledd

Previously published under the pen name – J M Ruddock.

The Book of Thornhold

A Daughter of Warwick: The Story of Anne Neville, Queen of Richard III

Author Links:

Website: www.judithmarnopp.com

Blog: http://www.juditharnoppnovelist.blogspot.co.uk/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/JudithArnopp

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thetudorworldofjuditharnopp

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/judith-arnopp-ba999025

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tudor_juditharnopp/

Threads: tudor_juditharnopp@threads.net

Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/jarnopp.bsky.social

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.co.uk/jarnopp/

Book Bub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/judith-arnopp

Amazon Author Page: https://author.to/juditharnoppbooks

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4088659.Judith_Arnopp

Guest Post: “Snippet from ‘Imperatrix’ by S.P. Somtow”

On February 1, 2024January 28, 2024 By hmalagisiIn guest post1 Comment

I am pleased to welcome S.P. Somtow to my blog today to share a snippet from his latest novel, “Imperatix.” I would like to thank S.P. Somtow and The Coffee Pot Book Club for allowing me to be part of this blog tour.

Have another brain,” said the Emperor, feeding me Himself.

“Divinitas,” I said, “how many peacocks does it take to make such a platter?”

“Wonderful!” said Himself. “Poppaea never takes an interest in how the world runs. For her, the brains just appear by magic. The answer to question is — why — we have our own, private little — to coin a word — pavonarium. Would you like to see peacocks — a veritable ocean of peacocks — more bird-brains than even in the Senate?” He clapped his hands, dropping a brain onto the grass, though Hercules quickly disposed of it. “Come!”

He took me by the hand and started to pull me in toward the far side of the garden, where there was a fountain cunningly designed like a pair of dolphins. I turned to look at the Lady Poppaea, terrified that I would soon be alone with the God.

“This could be your fortune,” she said to me. “You’ve insulted, you’ve appeased. Now, Sporus, you must seduce.”

Blurb:

Captured by pirates and sold to a Roman aristocrat as a sex slave, Sporus attracted the attention of no less a personage than the Emperor Nero, ruler of the known world. Would-be poet, patron of the arts, aesthete, and brutal autocrat, the Divine Nero saw in the boy a startling resemblance to the Empress Poppaea – and made him an empress as well.

Suetonius, Tacitus, and other Roman historians have given tantalizing glimpses into the incredible life story of the boy who became twice an empress to two emperors and was condemned to die in the arena by a third.

In this meticulously researched trilogy, World Fantasy Award-winning author S.P. Somtow lays bare the darkest secrets of Imperial Rome – its triumphs and its nadirs, its beauty and its cruelty. Through this chaos, a contorted mirror of our contemporary world, this figure of Sporus moves, all too knowing yet all too innocent, providing a worm’s eye view of one of the wildest periods in ancient history.

Imperatrix, the second volume of the tale, takes us into the heart of the Imperial palace with all its intrigue, depravity, and splendor.

Buy Links:

This title is available to read on #KindleUnlimited.

Universal Buy Link: https://books2read.com/u/mV2EaJ

Author Bio:

Once referred to by the International Herald Tribune as ‘the most well-known expatriate Thai in the world,’ Somtow Sucharitkul is no longer an expatriate since he has returned to Thailand after five decades of wandering the world. He is best known as an award-winning novelist and a composer of operas.

Born in Bangkok, Somtow grew up in Europe and was educated at Eton and Cambridge. His first career was in music and in the 1970s, his first return to Asia, he acquired a reputation as a revolutionary composer, the first to combine Thai and Western instruments in radical new sonorities. Conditions in the arts in the region at the time proved so traumatic for the young composer that he suffered a major burnout, emigrated to the United States, and reinvented himself as a novelist.

His earliest novels were in the science fiction field and he soon won the John W. Campbell for Best New Writer as well as being nominated for and winning numerous other awards in the field. But science fiction was not able to contain him and he began to cross into other genres. In his 1984 novel Vampire Junction, he injected a new literary inventiveness into the horror genre, in the words of Robert Bloch, author of Psycho, ‘skillfully combining the styles of Stephen King, William Burroughs, and the author of the Revelation to John.’ Vampire Junction was voted one of the forty all-time greatest horror books by the Horror Writers’ Association.

In the 1990s Somtow became increasingly identified as a uniquely Asian writer with novels such as the semi-autobiographical Jasmine Nights and a series of stories noted for a peculiarly Asian brand of magic realism, such as Dragon’s Fin Soup, which is currently being made into a film directed by Takashi Miike. He recently won the World Fantasy Award, the highest accolade given in the world of fantastic literature, for his novella The Bird Catcher.

Returning to Thailand in 2001, he became artistic director of Opera Siam and has had more than a dozen operas produced around the world including The Snow Dragon and The Silent Prince, which premiered in the United States, Helena Citronova, an opera set during the Holocaust, and the ten-part DasJati: Ten Lives of the Buddha.

In the last few years, he has made a return to writing novels with the Nero and Sporus trilogy and the young adult series, Club X.

In 2021 the film he produced and wrote, The Maestro: Symphony of Terror received over forty awards at international festivals, and in 2023 the Thai government officially elevated him to the status of National Artist.

Read S.P. Somtow’s interview on Literary Titan about Imperatrix at https://literarytitan.com/2024/01/21/the-core-of-innocence/.

Author Links:

Website: www.somtow.com

Twitter: www.twitter.com/somtow

Facebook: www.facebook.com/somtow

Instagram: www.instagram.com/somtow

Book Bub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/s-p-somtow

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B000APBJXC

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/81037.S_P_Somtow

Guest Post: “Snippet from ‘Signatures in Stone’ by Linda Lappin

On January 25, 2024January 25, 2024 By hmalagisiIn guest post1 Comment

Today, I am pleased to welcome Linda Lappin to my blog to share a snippet from her novel, “Signatures in Stone.”I would like to thank The Coffee Pot Book Club and Linda Lappin for allowing me to be part of this blog tour.

Without inspiration, I could not write. What I needed was a new batch of
signatures, those curious messages our waking life sends us from our own unconscious, which I have come to see as promptings from the muse, and even as a spiritual guide for my own existence.

We are constantly immersed in a network of signs and symbols, whose meaning eludes us, but which, if only we could read them, would reveal every detail of our past and even predict our future.

The mind talks to itself not with words, but with scrambled symbols, pictures, fragments, often severed from any literal meaning. If we wish to learn to read them, we must abandon the rational links of words to thoughts. Signatures are always there waiting for us, like unopened letters slid beneath the front door, accumulating after a long absence, written in a hieroglyphic alphabet we have forgotten.

Blurb:

Captivating critics and readers, SIGNATURES IN STONE, was the OVERALL WINNER in the DAPHNE DU MAURIER AWARDS for Excellence in Mystery and Suspense Writing -Best Mystery of 2013

Rome, Italy – November 2023 – Pleasure Boat Studio is thrilled to announce the release of the second edition of Linda Lappin’s celebrated novel, SIGNATURES IN STONE: A BOMARZO MYSTERY. This captivating suspense tale takes readers on a thrilling journey through the enigmatic Monster Park of Bomarzo, also known as the Sacred Wood, an extraordinary Baroque sculpture garden in Italy. With the 500th anniversary of the park’s creation, this edition is accompanied by a magnificent new cover and a series of Tarot card illustrations by Santa Fe artist Carolyn Florek.

In SIGNATURES IN STONE, readers are transported to the atmospheric setting of the Monster Park of Bomarzo, a sixteenth-century garden adorned with mythical creatures believed to represent a terrifying journey into the realm of nightmares. Against this backdrop, four travelers find themselves intertwined in a fate-driven Italian holiday. Daphne, a British writer of occult mysteries, her down-on-his-luck aristocratic publisher Nigel, the aspiring artist and American gigolo Clive, and the art historian Professor Finestone, all converge in a dilapidated villa near the park. They are attended by rustic servants who harbor secrets of their own.

Professor Finestone has made a groundbreaking discovery, revealing that the garden was designed by one of Italy’s greatest artists as a transformative experience that delves into the shadow side of life. Over the centuries, the park’s meanders continue to influence the minds and destinies of those who venture within. As the group explores their heart’s desires amidst the haunting sculptures, they become entangled in a web of intrigue and danger. When Daphne, renowned for writing cozy murder tales, becomes the prime suspect in a shocking homicide, she must confront her own darkness and rely on her sleuthing skills to uncover the terrifying truth.

Linda Lappin’s gripping tale presents an intriguing exploration of gardens in Renaissance Italy, where they were regarded as tools for altering consciousness and changing destiny. The Monster Park of Bomarzo becomes the backdrop for a “Gothic-in-Wonderland” phantasmagoria, immersing readers in a suspenseful and thrilling journey.

New Edition of Linda Lappin’s Award-Winning SIGNATURES IN STONE: A BOMARZO MYSTERY Commemorates the 500th Anniversary of the Monster Park.

Praise:

“Layers of mystery are woven into Linda Lappin’s beautifully written and atmospheric historical novel set in Bomarzo, Italy’s enigmatic park of stone monsters.”
~ Gigi Pandian, author of The Accidental Alchemist.

“Deftly mixing fascinating art history and murder with an exotic atmospheric setting (the Bomarzo garden actually exists), dramatic historical period (1928 fascist Italy), and fully fleshed characters, Lappin (The Etruscan) has written a hallucinatory gothic mystery in which no one is as they appear. Daphne is a most memorable, if a bit unreliable narrator. Readers looking for an intelligent summer mystery will find much to savor here.”
~ Wilda Williams, Library Journal

Buy Link:

Universal Buy Link: https://books2read.com/u/mYDWvd

Author Bio:

Linda Lappin, poet, translator, novelist, and travel writer is the prize-winning author of four novels: The Etruscan (Wynkin deWorde, 2004); Katherine’s Wish (Wordcraft, 2008), dealing with the last five years of Katherine Mansfield’s life; Signatures in Stone: A Bomarzo Mystery (Pleasureboat Studio, 2013,2023), overall winner of the Daphne Du Maurier award for best mystery novel of 2013; and Loving Modigliani: The Afterlife of Jeanne Hébuterne (Serving House Books, 2020), 2021 Daphne Du Maurier award finalist and shortlisted for the 2021 Montaigne Medal for Books of Distinction.

She is also the author of The Soul of Place: Ideas and Exercises for Conjuring the Genius Loci, (Travelers Tales, 2015), winner of a Nautilus Award in the category of creativity in 2015.

A former Fulbright scholar to Italy, she has lived mainly in Rome for over thirty years. She is at work on a second Daphne Dublanc mystery novel, Melusine, set in Bolsena. The second edition of Signatures in Stone (2023) has been issued to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the Monster Park.

Author Links:

Website: https://www.lindalappin.net
Twitter: https://twitter.com/LindaLappin1
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LindaLappinAuthor/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/linda_lappin_author/
Threads: https://www.threads.net/@linda_lappin_author
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/lindalappin.bsky.social
Book Bub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/linda-lappin
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/author/lindalappin
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1157178.Linda_Lappin

Guest Post: “What is an Angel?” by Justin Newland

On December 15, 2023December 10, 2023 By hmalagisiIn guest post2 Comments

I am pleased to welcome Justin Newland to my blog today to discuss his latest book, “The Mark of the Salamander.” I would like to thank The Coffee Pot Book Club and Justin Newland for allowing me to be part of this blog tour.

My latest historical fiction novel, The Mark of the Salamander, has just been published. 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.

While The Island of Angels is an intriguing title, this blog explores the question: ‘What is an angel?’ This is the definition from the Merriam-Webster dictionary:

‘A spiritual being serving as a divine messenger and intermediary and often as a special protector of an individual or nation.’

This suggests that any nation has a spiritual protector or guardian. If so, where would these angels live? In the ground, or in places like the lakes, forests, and mountain ranges? Many monasteries, temples, and holy places are located on mountaintops and in remote places like deserts in the expectation that the angelic beings would rise out of the ground and grace their occupants with their presence.

The definition also mentions the spiritual beings – the angels – as divine messengers. The angels of a nation are then custodial of the divine intention for that land and its people. The angels’ function then becomes to guide the people towards the fulfillment of that intention.

Then how would the people of a nation know if what they were doing was aligned or natural to that divine intention?

Well, if they were, the angels would supercharge what they were doing. For example, they would prompt them to greater exploits, exceptional discoveries, and the creation of finer art. They would urge the people to do things and perceive things, that were above and beyond what the people previously thought possible. Angels add charisma and most importantly, they yield a vision of the future. They add grace and offer healing to old wounds and new possibilities. Their presence would feel like a person had a hose pipe of water gushing into their back.

Francis-Drake-oil-panel-engraving-Jodocus-Hondius In 1578, Francis Drake set out from Plymouth with five ships to sail around the world. Until that point in history, England was a small, misty isle on the edge of continental Europe. Through Drake’s efforts, in that single voyage, he hauled England out of the dark ages and into a future in which England would become the hub of a new world of trade & communication. He single-handedly changed England’s self-view.

How was this momentous event achieved? Was it with the added assistance of the Angels of the Island? Where would you look for evidence of angels in the history of a nation? Well, perhaps you’d start with the symbols of the land that have persisted through the ages, their myths and legends, and their constitutional elements, like the color and formation of its flag. In Elizabethan England, the flag was still a red cross on a white background (Scotland had yet to contribute the blue saltire to the Union Jack).

Then there’s the heraldry of the nation. England’s royal coat of arms features its Medieval Tudor Coat of Arms Semper Eadem Always the Same chivalric Order of the Garter. Established by King Edward III in 1348, the motto of the Most Noble Order is, ‘Honi Soit Qui Mal Y Pense,’ which means, ‘Evil be to he who thinks evil (of me).’

This is a huge clue to the nature and character of the land of England and its angels. It’s a powerful statement of defiance. The motto says that anything that comes into the land, that is not fitting, or of a lower order than the angels of the land, will get sent back to where it came from. In other words, repulse. In modern terms – return to sender.

Blurb:

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.

Buy Links:

Universal Link: https://books2read.com/u/38Yxzr

Barnes and Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-mark-of-the-salamander-justin-newland/1144122989?ean=2940186006305

Waterstones: https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-mark-of-the-salamander/justin-newland/9781915853271

Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/gb/en/ebook/the-mark-of-the-salamander

WH Smith: https://www.whsmith.co.uk/products/the-mark-of-the-salamander-the-island-of-angels/justin-newland/paperback/9781915853271.html

Saxo DK: https://www.saxo.com/dk/the-mark-of-the-salamander_bog_9781915853271

UK Bookshop: https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/the-mark-of-the-salamander-justin-newland/7448127?ean=9781915853271

Wordery: https://wordery.com/mark-of-the-salamander-justin-newland-9781915853271?cTrk=MjAxNjg3MzE1fDY1NDE4MzM0N2QzYzA6MTo1OjY1NDE4MzE0ZGFjNTA4LjEwMTkzMjgzOjYxZWVjMzJj

Blackwells: https://blackwells.co.uk/bookshop/product/The-Mark-of-the-Salamander-by-Justin-Newland/9781915853271

Foyles: https://www.foyles.co.uk/book/the-mark-of-the-salamander/justin-newland/9781915853271

Author Bio:

JUSTIN NEWLAND’s novels represent an innovative blend of genres from historical adventure to supernatural thrillers 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, charting the uncanny coincidences that led to the repulse of the Spanish Armada.

Author, speaker, and broadcaster, Justin appears on LitFest panels, 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.

Author Links:

Website: https://www.justinnewland.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/JustinNewland53

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/justin.newland.author/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justin-newland-b393aa28/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drjustinnewland/

Book Bub: https://partners.bookbub.com/authors/4862998/edit

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.co.uk/stores/Justin-Newland/author/B06WRQVLT8

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/jnewland

Guest Post: “Spotlight for ‘How to Dress Like a Tudor’ by Judith Arnopp

On December 4, 2023December 3, 2023 By hmalagisiIn guest postLeave a comment

I am pleased to welcome Judith Arnopp to my blog today to share a blurb for her latest book, “How to Dress Like a Tudor.” I would like to thank Pen and Sword Books, The Coffee Pot Book Club, and Judith Arnopp for allowing me to be part of this blog tour.

Blurb:

Have you ever hankered to dress like a Tudor lord or lady, or perhaps you prefer the status of goodwife, or costermonger, or even a bawd?

For beginner historical reenactors, the path to authenticity can be bewildering and sometimes intimidating. Judith Arnopp uses her own experience, both as a historian and a medieval/Tudor lady, to make your own journey a little easier.

The author traces the transition of fashion from the relatively subtle styles popular at the court of Henry VII, through the carefully constructed royal grandeur of Henry VIII, Edward VI, and Mary I to the pinnacle of majesty and splendid iconography of Elizabeth I.

In contrast to the magnificence of court come the ordinary folk who, subject to sumptuary laws and regulations, wore garments of a simpler cut and cloth – a strata of society that formed the back bone of Tudor England.

This brief history of 16th-century fashion examines clothing for both rich and poor, adult and child, and offers tips and tricks on how to begin to sew your first historically inspired garment, this book is aimed at helping the beginner learn How to Dress like a Tudor.

Buy Link:

Universal Buy Link: mybook.to/howtodress

Author Bio:

Judith writes historical fiction set during the late medieval and Tudor periods. Her usual focus is on the women who lived close to the monarch, women like Margaret Beaufort, Elizabeth of York, and Mary Tudor but more recently has been writing from the perspective of Henry VIII himself. Her books are on Kindle, Audible, and Paperback.

You can find her fiction books here: http://author.to/juditharnoppbooks

She also writes non-fiction and her work is featured in many anthologies and online magazines. Her latest non-fiction, How to Dress like a Tudor published by Pen & Sword Books is available now.

Judith is a founder member of a reenactment group The Fyne Company of Cambria, and began making Tudor costumes for herself, her husband, John, and other members of the group. It was this that inspired How to Dress Like a Tudor and she hopes to write more non-fiction Tudor history in the future.

Author Links:

Website: http://www.judithmarnopp.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/JudithArnopp

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thetudorworldofjuditharnopp

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/judith-arnopp-ba999025

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tudor_juditharnopp/

Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/jarnopp.bsky.social

Book Bub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/judith-arnopp

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Judith-Arnopp/e/B003CGLWLA/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4088659.Judith_Arnopp