Author of Saxon historical fiction and non-fiction, 20th-century historical mysteries, and Norse-inspired historical romantasy. Book reviewer and blog host.
Author: MJ Porter, author
I'm an author of historical fiction (Early England/Viking and the British Isles as a whole before 1066, as well as five 20th-century mysteries), a non-fiction title about the royal women of tenth-century England, and historical fantasy.
I’m spotlighting Both Sides of the Pond, My Family’s War: 1933-1946 by Barbara Kent Lawrence #BothSidesOfThePond #HistoricalFiction #WorldWar2History #MyFamilysWar #maineauthor #BlogTour #TheCoffeePotBookClub
I’m spotlighting Both Sides of the Pond, My Family’s War: 1933-1946 by Barbara Kent Lawrence
Here’s the blurb
In January of 1939 when Barbara Greene, a beautiful young British actress, met Joe Kennedy, Jr., son of the American Ambassador, she could not have expected that their relationship would lead to her emigrating to the United States and learning to pilot a plane. Neither could her brother, Kent, have foreseen his bitter retreat from Dunkirk when he left England in January 1940 to fight in France, or his subsequent service on the frontlines in Cornwall, North Africa, Sicily, and Burma.
In this intensively researched war story of the author’s family, we also hear the stories of other ordinary people who survived extraordinary circumstances. Richly illustrated with photographs and documents, “Both Sides of the Pond, My Family’s War: 1933 – 1946” is a captivating book.
Praise for Both Sides of the Pond:
“Author Barbara Kent Lawrence weaves a rich tapestry of the lives of her British mother and uncle from 1933 to 1946, before, during, and just after World War II. … War stories are very personal. This is such a story, and it offers insight into how two young people navigated difficult years that altered the trajectories of the lives they thought they would live. It is a worthy read, written beautifully. Don’t miss it.“ ~ Patricia Walkow, Military Writers Society of America
“I loved this book and couldn’t put it down. History and the complexity of human relationships unfold with uncommon grace.“ ~ Barbara Lazear Ascher, winner, most recently, of Pushcart’s Editors Book Award for Ghosting: A Widow’s Voyage Out.
Dr. Lawrence is the author of many articles and nine books, including an award-winning dissertation about the influence of culture on aspirations in Maine. Her new book, Both Sides of the Pond, My Family’s War: 1933 – 1945, is available in book stores and on amazon.com.
A former professor, she has taught courses in anthropology and sociology, research, and writing non-fiction and memoir. Lawrence grew up in New York City and Washington D.C., then earned a BA in anthropology from Bennington College, an MA in sociology from New York University, and an Ed.D. in Administration, Policy and Planning from Boston University.
In addition to teaching, Lawrence has worked for the Department of Social Services and the Housing Development Administration in New York, directed a small museum in Maine, co-run a brokerage and construction company, consulted for the Rural School and Community Trust and KnowledgeWorks, and started four non-profit organizations supporting the environment and students.
When not working she loves to garden, knit, and go for walks, pastimes she learned from her British mother. She lives in Maine and is working on the third novel in her Islands series.
I’m welcoming Cliff Lovette and his new novel, Ciric Bim Bom: A Cold War Adventure to the blog with a post about my favourite topic – research
I’m welcoming Cliff Lovette and his new novel, Circus Bim Bom: A Cold War Adventure to the blog with a post about my favourite topic – research
THE RESEARCH NEVER ENDS
Circus Bim Bom: A Cold War Adventure Bim Bom Books by Cliff Lovette
In 1991, I was a young attorney at an entertainment law firm in Atlanta. In walks this long-haired road manager named Bobby Liberman. He’d just finished a tour and started telling me about his previous gig: road manager for a privately owned Soviet circus that had arrived in America in 1990—a hundred and twenty performers, crew, and families from the crumbling Soviet empire. I was hooked. More than three decades later, I’m still researching.
Following the Trail The Circus Bim Bom saga barely made a ripple in national news—just a few newspaper articles and some local TV coverage—before the story vanished into thechaos of 1990. It was a year when the rubble of the Berlin Wall was still being cleared, Saddam invaded Kuwait, and the Soviet Union began its final unraveling. With so much history unfolding simultaneously, a Soviet circus touring America was easy to overlook. Yet fragments survived: newspaper clippings in library archives, a circus program printed in both Russian and English, photographs from a July Fourth picnic at Lake Lanier where Soviet performers celebrated America’s birthday with Georgia Rotarians. The challenge was finding these fragments—and the people who could provide them with meaning.
The Hunt for Living Memory In 2010, I recruited a team of Emory Law students to help me organize the chaos. They compiled a fifty-four-page research packet that included contact lists for circus performers, American promoters, attorneys, and journalists who had covered the story. They created quote databases highlighting the most revealing moments fromdozens of newspaper articles, spanning publications from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution to The Washington Post to The Los Angeles Times. They transcribedinterviews that captured voices I might otherwise have lost to time. But documents only tell part of any story. I needed voices—living witnesses whocould fill in what the paper trail left out. I tracked down the Nashville promoter who had worked with the tour. I found theRoswell Rotarian who had hosted that Fourth of July party, and I listened as he described, with tears in his eyes, how a towering Russian strongman had put an arm around his shoulder during the fireworks and said, “Happy Birthday, USA.” That moment stayed with me. Here was an American patriot who’d opened his home to Soviet performers—strangers from the other side of the Iron Curtain—and three decades later, he still choked up remembering it. Over the years, I interviewed more than a dozen people connected to the tour. Some welcomed the chance to share their memories, while others were initially reluctant, surprised that anyone still cared about events from so long ago. Each conversation unlocked new details, contradictions, and mysteries, reminding me why this story matters.
The Bigger Picture Personal testimonies provided the human story, but I needed context—the geopolitical forces shaping what these performers experienced while their empire teetered back home. What was happening in Moscow while they performed in American arenas? What pressures weighed on Soviet officials? What were American audiences thinking as they watched these artists from behind the Iron Curtain? I studied declassified State Department documents about the Washington Summit negotiations between President Bush and Mikhail Gorbachev—the high-level diplomacy that formed the backdrop for this circus tour. I traced connections between promoters on both coasts and dug through newspaper archives from Atlanta, Los Angeles, and New York. Every answer generated new questions. Every document pointed to another document I hadn’t yet found.
Why the Research Never Ends M.J. Porter writes that we must “question everything and not just accept it… look at the why, the how, and everything in between, including the chance survival of the records we do have.” That philosophy resonates deeply with me. Historical research isn’t about finding definitive answers; it’s about following threads wherever they lead, questioning assumptions even when the answers seem obvious, and accepting that some gaps can never be filled. The fragments that survive do so by chance—a newspaper clipping saved in a scrapbook, a photograph tucked in a drawer, a memory that someone chose to share before it was too late. What matters is honoring those fragments: the transcribed interviews, the faded newspaper clippings, the photographs of Soviet acrobats at a Georgia lake on the Fourth of July. Those fragments became Circus Bim Bom: A Cold War Adventure—a novel that weaves fact and imagination to bring this forgotten story back to life. The book took shape over years of drafts, each revision incorporating something new I had learned, some detail I had finally tracked down, or some connection I had made. But even now, with the book complete, I continue to find new details—a name I hadn’t encountered, a connection I hadn’t made, a question I hadn’t thought to ask. The research never ends. And I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Here’s the blurb
Soviet circus performers arrived in America hoping to build cultural bridges. Instead, they became unwitting pawns in a Cold War game of international intrigue.
When the first privately owned Soviet circus arrived in 1990 in America as the Soviet Union disintegrated, its elite performers expected to build cultural bridges through spectacular shows. Instead, this prestigious troupe faced a perilous journey through Cold War America.
Circus director Yuri had to navigate treacherous waters where American mobsters, Soviet agents, and political forces circled like predators. Young aerialist Anton dreamed of becoming a clown against his family’s wishes, while forbidden romances and unexpected connections bloomed between Soviet performers and Americans who saw past the ideological divide. As high-stakes conspiracies threatened to tear the circus family apart, they had to choose between the authoritarian chains of home and the uncertain promise of freedom.
As the Ringmaster reminds us, “The best Soviet stories are like vodka—they burn with suffering, intoxicate with conflict, keep you stewing in reflection, and yearning for your heart’s desire.” This genre-bending tale explores whether human connection can transcend ideology—and whether storytelling can bridge the divides that separate us.
Circus Bim Bom offers an innovative multimedia reading experience. The novel includes 45+ YouTube links to period music, historical speeches, and cultural moments embedded throughout—readers can listen to the actual songs characters dance to as they waltz, and watch Reagan’s Brandenburg Gate speech as it’s referenced in the text.
Character Avatars: 25+ talking video introductions where characters speak directly to readers
Re-Imagined Circus Posters
Book Club Experience: Interactive forums, live chat, and community discussions
Historians Room(under construction): A space for Cold War history buffs to fact-check the novel, explore primary sources, and debate historical accuracy
Meet the author
Father, storyteller, and dog lover living in Sandy Springs, Georgia, with London curled at his feet. Cliff Lovette is an entertainment lawyer who learned about the real Circus Bim Bom in 1991 when the circus’s American road manager became a client at his Atlanta law firm. Circus Bim Bom: A Cold War Adventure is the first book in his debut duology
Today, I’m delighted to be reviewing Love Lost in Time by Cathie Dunn, a dual timeline novel #LoveLostInTime #CathieDunn #DualTimeline #WomenAcrossTime#BlogTour #YardeBookPromotions
Today, I’m delighted to be reviewing Love Lost in Time by Cathie Dunn, a dual timeline novel
Here’s the blurb
A reluctant daughter. A dutiful wife. A mystery of the ages.
Languedoc, France, 2018
Historian Madeleine Winters would rather research her next project than rehash the strained relationship she had with her late mother. However, to claim her inheritance, she reluctantly agrees to stay the one year required in her late mother’s French home and begins renovations. But when she’s haunted by a female voice inside the house and tremors emanating from beneath her kitchen floorboards, she’s shocked to discover ancient human bones.
The Mediterranean coast, AD 777
Seventeen-year-old Nanthild is wise enough to know her place. Hiding her Pagan wisdom and dutifully accepting her political marriage, she’s surprised when she falls for her Christian husband, the Count of Carcassonne. But she struggles to keep her forbidden religious beliefs and her healing skills secret while her spouse goes off to fight in a terrible, bloody war.
As Maddie settles into her rustic village life, she becomes obsessed with unraveling the mysterious history buried in her new home. And when Nanthild is caught in the snare of an envious man, she’s terrified she’ll never embrace her beloved again.
Can two women torn apart by centuries help each other finally find peace?
Love Lost in Time is a vivid standalone historical fiction novel for fans of epoch-spanning enigmas. If you like dark mysteries, romantic connections, and hints of the paranormal, then you’ll adore Cathie Dunn’s tale of redemption and self-discovery.
Any Triggers: Implied attack on a female character. Some minor fighting scenes.
Praise
“From the richness of Charlemagne’s court and the regret of a daughter, as she stands over her mother’s grave, to the realisation of an enemy and a skeleton under the kitchen floor, Love Lost in Time: A Tale of Love, Death and Redemption by Cathie Dunn is the unforgettable story that traverses two very different times.”
The Coffee Pot Book Club, 5* Editorial Review
“The narrative is ripe with emotions as two independent women are pulled in unexpected directions… Both landscapes are beautifully penned for readers to easily get lost in. Additionally, the storylines are engaging, and each helped bring a satisfying conclusion to the other. An enjoyable tale about love, sacrifice, and self-discovery.”
Historical Novel Society
“The historical details are beautiful, and a book which could easily feel oppressively sad is cleverly lightened with the use of romance and a satisfying ending. Well written and easy to read, the historical side may be a little more compelling, but the contemporary details add a layer that cannot be ignored!”
In’DTale Magazine
“In Love Lost in Time, Ms Dunn creates a fascinating balance between a tragic love story set in the Visigoth empire of the eighth century, and a very modern historian on a quest to find her own personal history in picturesque Languedoc…
Thoroughly researched and beautifully told, both stories complement each other in narrative power and colourful scene-setting; and in the dual narrative the main characters are compelling – each a product of destiny and following their fate, regardless of the cost. Fans of Kate Mosse will relish this book…”
Love Lost in Time is an engaging dual time line novel, set in almost contemporary France, and also in the late 700s, a time not many authors dare to write about because it’s so confusing for the reader (and complex). Cathie manages to evoke this period fabulously by making her main character, Nanthild, a woman of her time, while allowing events to take place largely externally to her. We know there’s war but we don’t have to get bogged down in all the politics of the era. We simply know it is a perilous time. A few main players drive the narrative and drive it very well indeed.
I also found the near-contemporary element of the novel satisfying (as a whole I don’t like dual timelines) and I was as caught up in what was happening to Maddie as I was with Nanthild’s storyline, even though as the two storylines started to converge, it became clear not all was going to go well for Nanthild.
A thoroughly engrossing novel and one I’m so pleased I decided to read.
Cathie is an Amazon-bestselling author of historical fiction, dual-timeline, mystery, and romance. She loves to infuse her stories with a strong sense of place and time, combined with a dark secret or mystery – and a touch of romance. Often, you can find her deep down the rabbit hole of historical research…
In addition, she is also a historical fiction book promoter with The Coffee Pot Book Club, a novel-writing tutor, and a keen reviewer on her blog, Ruins & Reading.
After having lived in Scotland for almost two decades, Cathie is now enjoying the sunshine in the south of France with her husband, and her rescued pets, Ellie Dog & Charlie Cat.
She is a member of the Historical Novel Society, the Richard III Society, the Alliance of Independent Authors, and the Romantic Novelists’ Association.
I’m welcoming Hidden Truth by CD Steele to the blog with an excerpt and a fab competition to enter #blogtour #Mystery #NewRelease
I’m welcoming Hidden Truth by CD Steele to the blog
This extract is from chapter 9. It is an exchange between Joe Wilde and a man named Colin Nelson. Joe is currently investigating the disappearance of Julie Turnbull and Colin Nelson had been stalking Julie for a period of time.
Just as Joe was about to pull up he saw a man walk out of his front gate and start walking in the direction of the town centre. Joe parked his car as quickly as he could, got out, then started walking at a fast pace so he could catch up with the man. When he was within earshot he called out to catch his attention.
‘Mr Nelson.’
The man turned around with a curious look on his face.
‘Sorry to bother you Mr Nelson, I just wanted to speak to you about Julie Turnbull if that’s OK.’
He looked at Joe suspiciously.
‘Wh-who are you? An-and what d-do you want?’
Colin Nelson spoke with a slight stutter. He was at least six feet tall and had a long thin face and his receding hairline made it look more elongated. The hair on top of his head or what was left of it was brushed forward, but it was so thin on top it almost looked see-through.
‘My name is Joe Wilde and I have been hired by Julie’s mother to investigate her daughter’s disappearance.’
‘That had n-nothing to do with me; the po-police questioned me at the time.’
‘I am not suggesting you did have anything to do with her disappearance, I would just like to talk to you briefly about her. Maybe we could talk while we are walking, where are you headed?’
‘I-I am going to the Po-Post Office.’
Joe had to fight to suppress a smile.
‘That’s where Julie used to work wasn’t it — you used to go in there quite often didn’t you?’
‘Yes.’
‘Sometimes it was for no other reason than just to see Julie.’
‘I-I told you I-I had nothing to do with her disappearance, I-I w-would never have done anything to hurt her, she was my friend.’
‘You wanted to be more than just friends though, didn’t you?’
‘Yes, I wa-was in love with her and I-I thought she felt the same about m-me.’
‘You knew she was married and even when she made it clear that she did not feel the same way about you, you continued to pester her in the Post Office. Then when you were banned from there you proceeded to stalk her.’
‘I just had to keep seeing her, ju-just being ne-near her, she made me happy.’
‘You do realise that your behavior really unsettled her, made her feel uncomfortable and a little scared.’
‘I-I would never have hurt her and I didn’t want to sc-scare her.’
‘But she didn’t know that, following someone around is not normal behavior, can you not see that now?’
‘Ye-yes I-I suppose, but I had stopped following her well before sh-she went missing.’
‘Only because her husband and his mate threatened to beat you up if you didn’t stop. They just threatened you didn’t they or did they take it further than that?’
‘No, they ju-just thre-threatened me that time, they didn’t beat up.’
‘What do you mean that time, are you saying they paid you another visit at a later date and beat you up that time?’
‘Yes, well th-the husband didn’t, hi-his mate did.’
‘So his mate came to see you on his own and beat you up, when was this?
‘It was only about t-two or three we-weeks after they both confronted me.’
‘Where did this altercation take place?’
‘It was at the local pa-park, I-I often go there to feed the ducks — h-he must have followed me there. At one point I-I went to the toilet block and he ju-jumped me in there. H-he punched me to the ground then st-started kicking me, it felt like it went on for a-ages but it was probably only a couple of minutes.’
‘Did he say anything whilst he was doing it or afterwards?’
‘Just that I-I sh-should stay away from Ju-Julie if I knew what’s good for me.’
‘Did you go to the police about this?’
‘No.’
‘Why not?’
‘I just wanted t-to forget the wh-whole thing, try to forget about Julie and keep my head down, I-I don’t like confrontation. If he had ever done it again I might have gone to the p-po-police.’
‘Did he ever accuse you of being behind her disappearance after she went missing?’
‘No, I never saw him again.’
By now they had reached the Post Office.
‘Will y-you wa-want to speak with me more a-a-after I come back out?’
‘No that’s OK, if I need to speak with you again Mr Nelson I will get back in contact.’
Here’s the blurb
Private Investigator Joe Wilde is investigating the murder of Philippa Redmond a former Labour MP. She had been found dead in her sauna over the Christmas holidays six weeks ago. The majority of her family had been staying with her at the time, but the police didn’t regard any of them as suspects. Evidence suggested an intruder had got into her home.
Joe also takes on a cold case of a missing woman named Julie Turnbull. She had disappeared six years ago without a trace. Meanwhile Joe’s good friend DI Whatmore is investigating the horrific murder of a woman who was burnt alive in her own home. His investigation crosses over with Joe’s missing person investigation. As they conduct their own investigations there are more killings.
DI Whatmore and Joe must join forces to track down a serial killer and solve a puzzling mystery, but doing so puts them and others in grave danger.
C.D Steele works as an Executive Officer in the Civil Service. He has a degree in Recreation Management and lives in County Down, Northern Ireland. This is his third novel and is the next book in the Joe Wilde Series after False Truth and Dark Truth.
*Terms and Conditions –UK entries welcome. Please enter using the Gleam box below. The winner will be selected at random via Gleam from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter and/or email. If no response is received within 7 days then Rachel’s Random Resources reserves the right to select an alternative winner. Open to all entrants aged 18 or over. Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. This will passed to the giveaway organiser and used only for fulfilment of the prize, after which time Rachel’s Random Resources will delete the data. I am not responsible for despatch or delivery of the prize.
I’m welcoming Dragon Kin’s Blood by Jo Gatenby to the blog
Here’s the blurb
Who do you trust when you can’t go home?
After centuries of hiding themselves and their shifting abilities from outsiders, the Dragon Kin decide to send a delegation of “dragon riders” to a nearby Lowlander territory. Eager to see the world, young Lauran quickly volunteers. But not all Lowlanders can be trusted. As the visit comes to an end, Lauran finds herself trapped in her draconic form—and hunted by an evil warlock. Desperate to protect herself and her people, she flees along the Dragon Spine Mountains, away from friends and foes alike.
Meanwhile, the last place Jenny wants to be during her summer break from university is on a family vacation with her mother’s new husband and his young son, Davy. Hoping for some peace and quiet, she explores a nearby cave—only to stumble into a portal to the Kingdom of Galahar, a land of magic and mythological creatures.
As Jenny searches for Davy, who follows her through the portal, and Lauran struggles for freedom, they come together with the help of Nath, an apprentice shaman of the Anishinabe people. Between Jenny’s technology and Nath’s magic, can they help Lauran escape the warlock’s relentless pursuit before he gets his hands on the Dragon Kin’s blood?
Dragon Kin’s Blood is an enchanting fantasy novel featuring a varied cast of characters and multiple points of view, bringing together a story of outsiders stumbling into a world they didn’t even know existed. And one where problems are already being faced by the dragon kin and the other people they encounter.
It is, perhaps, a little predictable, but of course, the skill there is to keep readers reading when the ending is potentially never in doubt, and the author does this very well.
It’s been a long time since I read any new fantasy featuring dragons, but I thoroughly enjoyed the story and hope other readers will too. It’s not the fastest read, pace-wise, but it certainly sucks you into the world of Galahar and is a fun, satisfying read.
Meet the author
Thanks to her great-grandmother, Jo Gatenby is a status Algonquin, of the Pikwakanagan First Nation, in Canada. The mountain people in this, her first novel are heavily influenced by native beliefs, and the magic words used are Algonquin language based.
Jo writes whatever the voices shouting in her head tell her to. As a result, she has had over two dozen stories and flash fiction published in on-line magazines. Links to many of these can be found on her website: http://www.jo-gatenby-books.com. She has also self-published five children’s books, which can also be found on her website.
