New Release – Page 9

I’m delighted to spotlight Metropolis by Colin Garrow, a historical crime novel set in Edinburgh #blogtour #histfic

Here’s the blurb

Edinburgh, 1936. People are disappearing. The police are clueless. Can Finlay MacBeth track down the perpetrator before someone else goes missing?

Haunted by his recent past, Professor Finlay MacBeth returns to his home town to take up a new post at the university. Within hours, his reputation for solving the occasional murder prompts the police to ask for his help. Four men—seemingly unconnected—have vanished into thin air. MacBeth must find whatever it is that links the men before the kidnapper strikes again.

But the police aren’t the only ones interested in MacBeth’s activities, and the amateur sleuth soon discovers that finding the missing men is the least of his problems…

In this thriller series set in Edinburgh, Metropolis is book #1 in the Finlay MacBeth Thriller series.

Book cover for Metropolis by Colin Garrow

Purchase Link

https://geni.us/ps3XiW

Meet the author

Colin Garrow grew up in a former mining town in Northumberland. He has worked in a plethora of professions including taxi driver, antiques dealer, drama facilitator, theatre director and fish processor, and has occasionally masqueraded as a pirate.

He has published more than thirty books, and his short stories have appeared in several literary mags, most recently in Witcraft, and Flash Fiction North. Colin lives in a humble cottage in Northeast Scotland where he writes novels, stories, poems and the occasional song.

He also plays several musical instruments and makes rather nice vegan cakes.

Connect with Colin

Check out my reviews for Colin’s other books

I’m reviewing Esperance by Adam Oyebanjo #newrelease #specfic #mystery

Here’s the blurb

The history-bending speculative fiction from Adam Oyebanji, award-winning author of BRAKING DAY.

An impossible death: Detective Ethan Krol has been called to the scene of a baffling murder: a man and his son, who appear to have been drowned in sea-water. But the nearest ocean is a thousand miles away.

An improbable story: Hollie Rogers doesn’t want to ask too many questions of her new friend, Abi Eniola. Abi claims to be an ordinary woman from Nigeria, but her high-tech gadgets and extraordinary physical abilities suggest she’s not telling the whole truth.

An incredible quest: As Ethan’s investigation begins to point towards Abi, Hollie’s fears mount. For Abi is very much not who she seems. And it won’t be long before Ethan and Hollie find themselves playing a part in a story that spans cultures, continents . . . and centuries.

An extraordinary speculative thriller about the scars left by the Atlantic slave-trade, by a master of the genre.

Purchase Link

https://amzn.to/3Sg1syZ

My Review

Esperance is an enthralling and captivating novel. It is mostly a mystery, and much of it revolves around determining who perpetrated an impossible crime. It is also a story of friendship, family, and a quest for justice.

The story begins quickly, with our impossible crime, introducing us to one of our main characters, Ethan. It is he and Abi, who we meet a little while later, who propel the story onwards, but they both have their own agendas and therefore, the reader is very much left in the dark about some elements. We quickly realise Abi is far from what she seems. We quickly realise Ethan has his own demons, but we’re swept along in the mystery of the entire thing. I adored that Abi spoke with a 1930s flavour. It really gave her character an extraordinary shine.

I loved the historical elements of the story and how they combined with the otherworldly ones. I found the whole story quite extraordinary and incredibly enjoyable, although, of course, tinged with sorrow for the real-life elements it’s built upon.

The ending, when it came, perhaps felt a little rushed. I would have loved to know more about the otherworldly elements.

That said, readers of quirky mysteries interlaced with otherworldly elements, as well as those who love a good tale of retribution, will devour this novel, just as I did.

If it’s not quite a five-star read, it so very nearly is that I feel it would be wrong not to give it. Esperance is available now, and it’s well worth checking out. I have to say, the tag line got me for this one, ‘They cried out for justice. Something heard.’ (Shudder).

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I’m welcoming the Boy with Wings by Mark Mustian to the blog, with a fab post about historical research LiteraryFiction #HistoricalFiction #BlogTour #TheCoffeePotBookClub

Historical research for BOY WITH WINGS

Boy With Wings is set mostly in northern Florida, where I’ve lived all my life, and as such I had some familiarity with the historical predicate of the story, but not all of it. I knew almost nothing about sideshows, or “freaks,” which necessitated quite a bit of research on the subjects.

People have asked where the idea to write the book came from, and I tell them that perhaps it was from attending the North Florida Fair as a child and seeing “The World’s Smallest Horse” or the “Wild Man from Borneo.” Somewhere along the way I saw the 1932 Tod Browning movie “Freaks,” and this spawned more interest. When I told my agent I was thinking of writing a novel that delved into this area, he asked if I’d read the novel Geek Love, which I hadn’t, and did. This spawned more research.

There are a number of books cataloguing human oddities that were helpful to bring an understanding of this arena, including Freak Babylon by Jack Hunter and American Sideshow by Marc Hartzman. Eventually I found the book Truevine, by Beth Macy, which sets forth the story of the albino brothers sold into the circus who became known as Eko and Iko, billed as sheep-headed wonders from Mars. I learned a lot from these books, including the fact that for some, including Eko and Iko, their lives became perhaps better than if they’d remained at home.

I also discovered the book Freaks, by Leslie Fiedler, an examination of what attracts us psychologically to human oddities, and the documentary “Sideshow: Alive on the Inside,” by Lynn Dougherty. One of the most insightful finds, though, was a biography of a gentleman named Ward Hall, who for fifty years ran sideshows across the United States. After my book was published, I did several appearances with the current sideshow performer Short E. Dangerously, who paid me one of the highest compliments a historical fiction writer can receive when he told me that I “nailed what it was like to be in a sideshow” and asked me about my research. When I told him about the Ward Hall book, he exclaimed: “I knew it! I was in a Ward Hall show for several years!”

I had a little general knowledge of turpentine camps, as I remember as a child passing rows of pine trees with little tin pans affixed to their trunks. The research in this area involved locating pamphlets and books describing such operations, and a visit to the Florida Forest Capital Museum State Park in Perry, Florida, where displays show how turpentine is extracted from trees and distilled.

Some have asked why I set the novel in the 1930s, and what I research I conducted regarding the Great Depression. I wanted the story to take place at a time things were changing, in some ways for the better and others ways not. By the 1930s, sideshows had seen their heyday and were starting to phase out. The South was still segregated, but cracks were beginning to show in that, too. In the book, I have the show admitting Blacks for the first time in an attempt to garner more revenue. I did quite a bit of research on places, events and language of the time, as I wanted the reader to feel like she or he was there, reading old newspapers, seeing small towns and their quaintness and prejudices, experiencing the people and their foibles that are in some ways not unlike those today. That’s to me what the best historical fiction accomplishes, and I hope I’ve come close to achieving it.

Here’s the blurb

“A brilliant fever dream of a novel, a haunting coming of age story reminiscent of both Franz Kafka and Charles Dickens.”

~ Chris Bohjalian, #1 New York Times Bestselling Author of The Jackal’s Mistress

*Next Generation Indie Book Awards 2025 First Place Winner*

What does it mean to be different?

When Johnny Cruel is born with strange appendages on his back in the 1930s South, the locals think he’s a devil. Determined to protect him, his mother fakes his death, and they flee. Thus begins Johnny’s yearslong struggle to find a place he belongs.

From a turpentine camp of former slaves to a freak show run by a dwarf who calls herself Tiny Tot and on to the Florida capitol building, Johnny finds himself working alongside other outcasts, struggling to answer the question of his existence. Is he a horror, a wonder, or an angel? Should he hide himself to live his life?

Following Johnny’s journey through love, betrayal, heartbreak, and several murders, Boy With Wings is a story of the sacrifices and freedom inherent in making one’s own special way-and of love and the miracles that give our lives meaning.

Buy Link

https://books2read.com/u/mdxEoR

Meet the author

Mark Mustian is the author of the novels “The Return” and “The Gendarme,” the latter a finalist for the Dayton International Literary Peace Prize and shortlisted for the Saroyan International Award for Writing. It won the Florida Gold Book Award for Fiction and has been published in ten languages.

The founder of the Word of South Festival of Literature and Music in Tallahassee, Florida, his new novel, “Boy With Wings,” is out in 2025.

Connect with the author

Follow the Boy with Wings Blog Tour with The Coffee Pot Book Club

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I’m delighted to welcome Janet Wertman and her new book, Nothing Proved, to the blog #HistoricalFiction #TudorFiction #ElizabethTudor #BlogTour #TheCoffeePotBookClub

I’m delighted to welcome Janet Wertman and her new book, Nothing Proved, to the blog with a guest post.

Guest Post

Thank you for having me on your blog to talk about my historical research, though I feel a little guilty given how much more information I have available to me than you do! The Tudor Era really marks the beginning of careful documentation of the historical record – and it’s all carefully indexed. The touch of a button opens the records of the Privy Council, writings of ambassadors, details of state trials. I can examine floorplans of castles and paintings of gardens long gone, I can watch videos of hawking parties and court dances, listen to period music played on antique instruments. But that much bounty can actually be overwhelming, so I focus my research in predictable thematic waves to get the narrative where it needs to be.

As my very first step with a new story, I start with books, or rather, I have always started with books and I am working on a way to do so again. I lost some amazing volumes in the January fires – things like The Social History of Lighting, Lady Hoby’s Diary, Conyers Read’s two-volume biography of William Cecil, and a host of other biographies, all of which told slightly different versions of the history. That’s the toughest part about researching: the inconsistent reports, the unreliable biographers. Of course, that can also be a bit of a hall pass for an author!

Anyway, once I have an idea what my story will be, I start to assemble dates into a detailed timeline, cherry-picking the ones I intend to use or need to keep in mind, and jotting down notes. From that, I outline the actual novel, date-stamped to keep me honest. Then the writing, which sends me down mid-course rabbit holes for scene-level information: the where, the why, the time of day – and an understanding of the relevant political context: that’s where letters come in. Any letter will have something to recommend it, but ambassadors’ letters are usually a goldmine. When I was writing The Boy King, I happened upon one relating how Edward VI plucked a dead falcon as a warning to his Council…yes I used that. Did I know that a similar rumor once surrounded Charles V? Yes, but again, the source gave me a hall pass…

Beyond that comes the truly granular part of the research, taking me back to books and websites and everything in between. The descriptions of Elizabeth’s clothes and dresses were helped along by Queen Elizabeth’s Wardrobe Unlock’d, an amazing resource that assembles inventories of the Wardrobe of the Robes, descriptions of the royal artificers, the different fashion styles and fads, and so much more. Descriptions of small household furnishings were invented with reference to the New Year’s Gift Exchanges 1559-1603, another rabbit hole to mine. Of course, sometimes the warrens are empty. Back in The Path to Somerset, I needed to show Henry closeted at Oatlands after learning about Catherine Howard’s infidelities. I wanted to find the period equivalent of him sitting in his bathrobe eating ice cream from the tub. It was easy enough to find the sumptuary laws that justified a silk night robe with a black jennet lining…but apparently he would have been scooping whale blubber and that would have required too much explanation to use. Instead, I had to simply give him empty wine goblets and a tray of half-eaten food.

I will say, for the early part of Nothing Proved, I run into a bit of your problem (and the problem of any other writer of Saxon England): few sources that mention my main character, and none that really show her interacting with her closest friends…so my initial task was to cross-reference the official records of Elizabeth’s doings with those of the other people in her orbit and come up with the intersections that the story required. I knew that Robert Dudley was keeper of Somerset House while it was in her use, I knew that William Cecil began to work for her just a month after a significant wedding they both would have attended, and so I was able to capture the depth of their respective relationships. In the end, big and small all come together. That is the beauty of research done right.

Here’s the Blurb

Danger lined her path, but destiny led her to glory…

Elizabeth Tudor learned resilience young. Declared illegitimate after the execution of her mother Anne Boleyn, she bore her precarious position with unshakable grace. But upon the death of her father, King Henry VIII, the vulnerable fourteen-year-old must learn to navigate a world of shifting loyalties, power plays, and betrayal.

After narrowly escaping entanglement in Thomas Seymour’s treason, Elizabeth rebuilds her reputation as the perfect Protestant princess – which puts her in mortal danger when her half-sister Mary becomes Queen and imposes Catholicism on a reluctant land. Elizabeth escapes execution, clawing her way from a Tower cell to exoneration. But even a semblance of favor comes with attempts to exclude her from the throne or steal her rights to it through a forced marriage.

Elizabeth must outwit her enemies time and again to prove herself worthy of power. The making of one of history’s most iconic monarchs is a gripping tale of survival, fortune, and triumph.

Buy Link

Universal Link:

Meet the Author

By day, Janet Wertman is a freelance grantwriter for impactful nonprofits. By night, she writes critically acclaimed, character-driven historical fiction – indulging a passion for the Tudor era she had harbored since she was eight years old and her parents let her stay up late to watch The Six Wives of Henry VIII and Elizabeth R.

Her Seymour Saga trilogy (Jane the Quene, The Path to Somerset, The Boy King) took her deep into one of the era’s central families – and now her follow-up Regina series explores Elizabeth’s journey from bastard to icon.

Janet also runs a blog (www.janetwertman.com) where she posts interesting takes on the Tudors and what it’s like to write about them.

Connect with the Author

Follow the Nothing Proved blog tour with The Coffee Pot Book Club

I’m delighted to spotlight This Ruined Place by Michael Lawrence #blogtour #histfic #WW2

Here’s the blurb

Evy Miller thinks a summer with her grandparents in sleepy Dorset will be painfully dull. Her suspicions are confirmed when Juby, a wild-haired, lanky old man, strolls through her grandparents’ doorway. At first, she thinks he’s nothing more than an odd duck who charms her grandmother and annoys her grandfather. The last thing she expects is to become his companion on visits to the small village of Rouklye, whose entire population was evicted during WWII.
She has no idea that the reason for Juby’s visits will become a defining moment in her life and change her understanding of history and her own family forever.

Purchase Link

https://books2read.com/u/bwBNZy

Meet the author

MICHAEL LAWRENCE has written and published a great many books, but he’s done a few other too. For instance, after leaving art school he began training as a graphic designer in a London studio before morphing into a photographer. As a photographer he took pictures for advertising agencies, publishers and newspapers, of pop stars and politicians, of fashion models and underwear, and many other kinds of people and things besides. He also worked in a travelling circus for a little while, and has been an antiques dealer, co-owned two art galleries, and made hundreds of paintings, drawings and experimental digital images. One of his private joys is recording songs (many of which he’s written) under the alias Aldous U.

As a writer he’s won the odd award, had books translated into twenty or so languages (one of which – ‘Young Dracula’ – was the inspiration for five BBC-TV series), has shuffled onto stages at literary festivals, and been interviewed on TV and radio. ‘There’s more,’ he says, ‘but I don’t want to bore you. There’s a lot of me in the Rainey novels, but I’m not saying which bits.’

Connect with the author

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It’s happy release day to Killer at the County Show by Kate Wells, a fabulous contemporary mystery set in the Malvern Hills #mystery #newrelease #blogtour

Here’s the blurb

Foul play at the sheep show…

Tensions are high at the Three Counties Show when accusations of cheating add fuel to a longstanding feud. For Jude Gray, whose only hope was to not make a fool of herself showing her Kerry Hill sheep, farming life has never been so dramatic.

When a body is found, belonging to one of the competitors, there is no shortage of suspects. Every sheep farmer in this close-knit community has a motive and beneath their show-ready smiles, they all have something to hide.

Experience has taught Jude that when there’s a murderer at large, nobody is truly safe. And with secrets simmering beneath the surface, this may be her most challenging investigation yet. Can she unearth the truth before it’s too late?

A gripping new instalment in the Malvern Farm Mystery series, perfect for fans of Frances Evesham, Merryn Allingham, and Faith Martin.

Purchase Link

https://mybook.to/KillerCountyShow

My Review

Killer at the County Show by Kate Wells is the fifth book in the Malvern Farm Mystery series and I’ve read four of them (see my reviews below).

It’s a delight to return to Jude and her farm and family, and hasn’t she just got involved in yet another murder mystery, all while attending the County Show to exhibit her sheep.

This is another welcome addition to the series. I always enjoy the fact that I never quite manage to guess who the murderer was in every book, and the plot is twisty enough to keep me reading. I will certainly be reading book 6.

Check out my reviews for Murder on the Farm and Death in the Hills, two earlier titles in the fab series.

Meet the author

Kate Wells is the author of a number of well-reviewed books for children, and is now writing a new cosy crime series set in the Malvern hills, inspired by the farm where she grew up.

Connect with Kate

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I’m delighted to welcome a returning Christina Courtenay to the blog with her newest release, Shadows in the Spring#newrelease #histfic #guestpost #blogtour

Caerleon and a Roman legion/legionary in AD 80

Here in the UK we are very lucky to have quite a few Roman sites to explore, which is very helpful when writing a story set during that era. The Romans were here for nearly 400 years, so they have left a lot of traces behind. My story SHADOWS IN THE SPRING features a legionary as the villain, so I had to do some research regarding the occupying legions that were present in the Britannia of AD 80. Therefore, it was natural for me to visit the town of Caerleon, which is fairly close to where I live.

Caerleon was called Isca by the Romans after the name of the river that flows through it, which is now the Usk. Around AD 75 they built a fortress there in order to keep the local Silures tribe under control. They’d been difficult to subdue and it needed a strong military presence. The Silures must have been a real thorn in the Romans’ side as Isca was one of only three permanent legionary bases in Britain at the time. (The others were at Chester/Deva and York/Eboracum).

The legion assigned to build it was the Legio II Augusta – or Second Augustan Legion. This legion had formed a part of the force that invaded Britain in AD 43 and they had remained ever since. They were originally stationed at Exeter, but later sent to Isca when the Silures proved troublesome. Part of a legionary’s job was to build forts, ramparts, ditches and roads, and they must have had to work very hard. The outline of the Isca fortress can still be seen in the town today, and it is vast. To begin with, the barracks and other buildings would have been constructed mostly of timber, with the buildings surrounded by a ditch and earth bank topped by a palisade. I would have been impressive and presumably intimidating to the locals. It housed upwards of 5,000 men, quite a sizeable force.

As with other forts, a civilian settlement grew up around it (a so-called vicus) and buildings like a bath complex were added for both legionaries and civilians to enjoy. The legionaries would have enjoyed this ‘taste of home’ as I’m sure life in Wales was very different to what at least some of them were used to. Imagine coming from sunny Italy or Spain to a cold, windy and rainy Britannia – probably a shock to the system! It was also dangerous, what with skirmishes and illnesses making life expectancy short, so to be able to relax and enjoy some leisure time at the baths was greatly appreciated.

SHADOWS IN THE SPRING is set in AD 80, which was ten years before the amphitheatre at Isca was built just outside the fort. It’s still there today, albeit mostly consisting of turf now. It’s an impressive place that would have seated about 6,000 people on wooden tiers built on a stone base. No doubt the spectators enjoyed all sorts of events, like gladiatorial games and executions of criminals. It was also used for military training. I loved standing in the middle of the arena – once covered in sand – and imagining what it must have been like to perform there.

There are two museums in Caerleon – one that shows what’s left of the baths and tells their story, and one with Roman artefacts. Both were very useful to me and I really enjoyed my visit to the picturesque town. It’s a bit off the beaten track, but if you ever find yourself nearby, I would definitely recommend that you take a look – you won’t regret it!

Here’s the blurb

Two souls bound together but lost in time. Until now.

AD 80

Duro of the Iceni tribe escaped life as an enslaved gladiator and is now finally home in Britannia with one thing on his mind: vengeance. For 20 years he has sought the Roman legionary who destroyed his family. What he didn’t expect was Gisel: a fierce Germanic woman with long white-blonde hair, forced into slavery by the Romans. Hypnotised by her spirit and her beauty, Duro frees Gisel and slowly tries to win her trust as they work together to complete his quest.

Present Day

Mackenna Jackson returns to Bath with a broken heart, thanks to rockstar Blue Daniels. Luckily she can still count on Blue’s former bandmate Jonah Miller as a listening ear. But Jonah has secretly been fighting stronger feelings, drawn to Mac’s quiet confidence and gorgeous white-blonde hair. As they explore the area, memories they can’t quite explain flood them both.

Is the spark between Mac and Jonah in fact a sign of something much deeper – a love enduring through millennia – or can it all be an illusion?

Purchase Link

https://geni.us/SITS

Meet the author

Christina Courtenay writes historical romance, time slip/dual time and time travel stories, and lives in Herefordshire (near the Welsh border) in the UK. Although born in England, she has a Swedish mother and was brought up in Sweden – hence her abiding interest in the Vikings. Christina is a Vice President and former Chair and of the UK’s Romantic Novelists’ Association and has won several awards, including the RoNA for Best Historical Romantic Novel twice with Highland Storms (2012) and The Gilded Fan (2014) and the RNA Fantasy Romantic Novel of the year 2021 with Echoes of the Runes. SHADOWS IN THE SPRING (dual time historical romance published by Headline Review 24th April 2025) is her latest novel. Christina is a keen amateur genealogist and loves history and archaeology (the armchair variety).

Connect with Christina

Website: http://www.christinacourtenay.com

Check out Christina’s other visit to the blog with Legacy of the Ruins

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I’m sharing my review for Fields of Glory by Michael Jecks #newrelease #histfic #blogtour

Here’s the blurb

1346. France. King Edward III is restless. Despite earlier victories the French crown remains intact. Determined to bring France under his own rule, Edward has devised a new plan of attack – one which he believes will finally bring the French army to its knees: a final, cataclysmic battle …

Berenger Fripper, Vintener of a pox-ridden mob of sixteen who make up the Vintaine of Sir John de Sully, storms the beaches of Normandy to bring victory to their king. But the French are nowhere to be seen…

And so Berenger leads his Vintaine through France and onward to battle – the Battle of Crécy – one which will both bond and break his men and be a decisive turning point in the Hundred Years’ War.

Image shows the book cover for Fieldsof Glory by author Michael Jecks. The image shows 5 mounted medieval warriors, one holding a banner, hurrying towards the viewer with a battlescene image behind them

Purchase Link

https://mybook.to/Fieldsof

My Review

Fields of Glory by Michael Jecks is a novel about the Hundred Years’ War in all its bloody glory. Featuring an ensemble cast of characters, every person has their own story to tell, hidden behind the veneer of bloody war, and the demands of an intolerant king, who appears to preach reconciliation with the French but finds every excuse to change his mind.

I can’t say any of this ragtag collection of men is particularly endearing. Sir John cares more for his horse than his men, while King Edward and the Prince of Wales are just as thoughtless regarding the lives they’re destroying. This makes it a very realistic portrayal, if not for the faint-hearted. Indeed, if seeking some semblance of empathy between the characters, we must look to the men of the Vintaine, and not those who command them.

A blood-drenched traipse through France will bring our characters the opportunity to earn battle booty, if only they can live through it. Fields of Glory is a must-read for fans of the genre and those interested in the Hundred Years’ War.

Meet the author

Studied actuarial science, then became a computer salesman for 13 years- after the 13th company folded, he turned to writing.

He’s the author of 50 novels, 6 novellas, 4 collaborative books and short stories. His tales are inspired by history and legends, but are all grounded in real life and real people, what motivates them, and why they turn to violence.

Founder of Medieval Murderers, he has served on the committees of: Historical Writers’ Association, CWA and Detection Club. He has judged the Debut Dagger, Ian Fleming Steel Dagger and other prizes, as well as serving as Dagger liaison officer and CWA Chair. He has taught writing at Swanwick and Evesham, and tutored for the Royal Literary Fund. He now runs South West Writers in Devon.

His work has been celebrated by Visconti and Conway Stewart pens; 2014 he was International Guest of Honour at the Bloody Words festival in Toronto, and Grand Master of the first parade in the New Orleans Mardi Gras.

Newsletter Sign Up: https://bit.ly/MichaelJecksNews

Bookbub profile: @michaeljecks

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I’m delighted to welcome Susan Lanigan and her new book, White Feathers, to the blog #HistoricalFiction #IrishHistoricalFiction #saga #BlogTour #TheCoffeePotBookClub

I’m delighted to welcome Susan Lanigan and her new book, White Feathers, to the blog with guest post.

Guest Post

My Research Process

By Susan Lanigan

When I was constructing the narrative of White Feathers, I needed an outline, but I was not sure in advance of everything that would occur. The advantage of writing historical fiction is that you can use real events as the vines on the trees which my Tarzan plot could grasp onto and swing to the next tree. So, I looked up various battles of World War I – Loos, the Somme, Neuve-la-Chapelle – and threaded a narrative from them. Like many, I had been captivated by Vera Brittain’s memoir Testament of Youth, and while I think Brittain would probably have been a lot personally, my heart broke for what she endured, how her hope was destroyed and how she carried on regardless after hope was gone.

I owe Brittain a lot for the construction of Eva’s narrative, particularly when she was in Étaples working as a Voluntary Aid Detachment nurse. Brittain’s narrative of that time is captivating and contains so many details. I first learned of the stark tale of the sinking of HMHS Britannic in that book, and then did my own research on the subject. I also read the account of Mary Borden, who writes in a very modernist style. The section in White Feathers where the dying Canadian lieutenant begs for a drink is based on an account in her book The Forbidden Zone.

While my research on the battles was comprehensive, my true experience of researching was coming across random fascinating minutiae and feeling compelled to shoehorn them into the story. The pigeon van was one of these phenomena, discovered while wandering around the Musée de la Grande Guerre, built near Mons, with a monument to mark the battle there. It was the closest the Germans got to Paris. The white feather propaganda was fascinatingly horrifying, and I can only imagine what it was like to see those notices on every corner, how hard it must have been to maintain an ethical stance in the face of overwhelming institutional opposition to it. The priest who oversees the trial and confession of a particular character was a real person, as was the order to which he belonged.

The inevitable problem with research is that you must omit more than you include if you are to have a novel that approaches a publishable wordcount. I could have spent all day talking about the “Little Mother” letter quoted by Robert Graves in Goodbye to All That, or the internecine rivalry of the Pankhurst sisters. But in the end, it’s story that matters; it is the flowing dress with the pleasing detail and the research is the firm undergarment that keeps everything in shape beneath!

Here’s the Blurb

“Anti-war and anti-patriarchy without ever saying so – a bravura performance of effortless elegance” – Irish Echo in Australia

SHORTLISTED FOR THE ROMANTIC NOVEL OF THE YEAR AWARD 2015

In 1913, Irish emigrée Eva Downey receives a bequest from an elderly suffragette to attend a finishing school. There she finds friendship and, eventually, love. But when war looms and he refuses to enlist, Eva is under family and social pressure to give the man she loves a white feather of cowardice. The decision she eventually makes will have lasting consequences for her and everyone around her.

Journey with Eva as she battles through a hostile social order and endeavours to resist it at every turn.

Buy Link

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Meet the Author

Susan Lanigan’s first novel White Feathers, a tale of passion, betrayal and war, was selected as one of the final ten in the Irish Writers Centre Novel Fair 2013, and published in 2014 by Brandon Books. The book won critical acclaim and was shortlisted for the UK Romantic Novel of the Year Award in 2015. This edition is a reissue with a new cover and foreword.

Her second novel, Lucia’s War, also concerning WWI as well as race, music and motherhood, was published in June 2020 and has been named as the Coffee Pot Book Club Honourable Mention in the Modern Historical Book of the Year Award.

Susan lives by the sea near Cork, Ireland, with her family.