Tag: The Coffee Pot Book Club

I’m delighted to welcome Fred Raymond Goldman and his book, A Prodigy in Auschwitz, to the blog #HistoricalFiction #WWII #Auschwitz #JewishSurvivorStory #BlogTour #TheCoffeePotBookClub

I’m delighted to welcome Fred Raymond Goldman and his book, A Prodigy in Auschwitz, A Holocaust Story, Book One: Simon, to the blog with an excerpt.

Excerpt

Excerpt from Chapter 55:

The winter of 1943 to 1944 passed slowly for Simon. During the colder months the orchestra didn’t play on Sundays as frequently for the entertainment of the SS officers, but he continued to visit Rachel regularly. He brought her slices of bread and sausages he’d been able to sneak from the kitchen for her to share with some of her friends who didn’t have as much access to extra food.

Although the musicians received larger portions of food than other prisoners, they were affected by the rationing. As members of the orchestra succumbed to the diseases and malnutrition that ran rampant through the camp, the influx of new prisoners made up for the labor needs. The commander saw to it the orchestra remained complete.

Simon became aware of prisoners from a camp in Terezin, Czechoslovakia who had arrived at Auschwitz-Birkenau in several transports. Large numbers of them, he learned, were exterminated upon arrival. The survivors lived in a separated area of Auschwitz-Birkenau called Terezin. They were unseen by other prisoners and received special privileges, he was led to believe, including not having their hair shaved and being allowed to wear their own clothes. Nevertheless, they were treated as prisoners.

Simon heard rumors that the International Red Cross had requested a visit with these prisoners at their former camp after hearing about their bad treatment there. Under pressure, the Germans conceded and allowed for such an appearance, but not before beautifying the camp by cleaning up the housing and grounds and providing nice clothing and healthy meals for the prisoners to make it look as though they were being treated well. As a result, the International Red Cross unintentionally but falsely projected to the public that the camp residents were receiving humane treatment

On a Sunday visit with Rachel, Simon told her about the rumor he’d heard. The following week, while they were walking hand in hand, Rachel said she had told Dr. Fridman about the rumor.

Simon stopped, let go of her hand, and faced Rachel. “What did he say?”

“He said he thought the only reason the Germans would have let the Red Cross come was to convince them there was no German plan to murder Jews.”

Simon frowned. “If that is true, the Germans’ strategy likely worked.” 

Here’s the blurb

When Nazi Germany troops enter Krakow, Poland on September 2, 1939, fourteen-year-old Simon Baron learns two truths that have been hidden from him.

One, the people who have raised him are not his biological parents. Two, his birth mother was Jewish. In the eyes of the Germans, although he has been raised Catholic, this makes Simon Jewish.

Simon’s dreams of becoming a concert violinist and composer are dashed when his school is forced to expel him, and he is no longer eligible to represent it at its annual Poland Independence Day Concert. There, he had hoped to draw the attention of representatives of a prestigious contest who might have helped him fulfill his dreams.

Simon vows to never forgive his birth father for abandoning him, an act resulting in unspeakable tragedies for his family and in his being forced to live the indignities of the ghetto and the horrors of Auschwitz and Sachsenhausen concentration camps.

Throughout his ordeals, Simon wavers between his intense anger toward his birth father and his dreams of being reunited with him. Through his relationships with Rabbi Rosenschtein and the rabbi’s daughter, Rachel, Simon comes to appreciate his Jewish heritage and find purpose in his life. Driven by devotion to family and friends and his passion for music, Simon holds on to hope. But can he survive the atrocities of the Nazi regime?

How do you reconcile a decision you made in the past when the world erupts in war, threatening the life of someone you love and believe you were protecting?

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Meet the Author

Fred Raymond Goldman graduated from Western Maryland College in Westminster, MD (now named McDaniel College) in June 1962 with a BA in psychology. Two years later, in 1964, he earned an MSW degree from the University of Maryland School of Social Work.

Most of Fred’s career was spent in Jewish Communal Service. He served as the administrator of Northwest Drug Alert, a methadone maintenance program at Sinai Hospital in Baltimore. In this role, he also acted as a community resource, guiding individuals struggling with addiction toward Jewish services that supported abstinence, counseling, and job placement.

Following that, Fred was hired as the Assistant to the Director of Jewish Family Services in Baltimore.

His final professional role was with Har Sinai Congregation, a Jewish Reform Synagogue in Baltimore, where he served as Executive Director for 23 years, retiring in October 2005.

In retirement, Fred pursued his love of hiking with The Maryland Hiking Club and spent time volunteering at The Irvine Nature Center. There, he led schoolchildren on nature hikes and assisted in the center’s nature store.

Writing had always been a passion for Fred, dating back to childhood, but it wasn’t until retirement that he began to take it seriously. He started writing children’s books and became a member of the Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators Association. Among the titles he wrote are: Vera and the Blue Bear Go to the Zoo, Never Bite an Elephant (And Other Bits of Wisdom), The Day the School Bus Drivers Went on Strike, If You Count, and The Day the School Devices Went on Strike.

Though none of these books has been published, Fred remains hopeful that if the CONCERTO books gain recognition, opportunities for the earlier works may follow.

Fred’s journey of writing the CONCERTO companion books began when he saw a note on a local library bulletin board about a new writer’s group led by a local author. He joined and, along with nine other participants, learned the fundamentals of writing: staying in the protagonist’s point of view, building narrative tension, developing distinctive and flawed characters, and the process of writing and rewriting.

Over the course of more than four years, Fred dedicated time to writing, researching, rewriting, and submitting the manuscript. What began as a single book titled The Auschwitz Concerto was eventually split into two volumes and self-published. For a time, the manuscript was also titled The Box.

The encouragement from the group’s teacher and fellow members played a key role in shaping the novels, and Fred hopes his feedback was equally helpful to others in the group.

In the ‘Author’s Notes’ of the CONCERTO books, Fred outlines the goals behind sharing these stories. Prior to writing them, he had only a general understanding of the Holocaust—knowing that nine million lives were lost and that it was a horrific chapter in history. Through the writing process, he gained deeper insights into both historical events and human suffering, fostering a greater sensitivity to contemporary issues. He firmly believes that what affects one group can quickly impact everyone, and that such awareness is critical today.

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I’m delighted to welcome Ron Allen Ames and his book, An Echo of Ashes, to the blog #AnEchoOfAshes #RonAllenJames #WWI #SpanishInfluenza #BlogTour #TheCoffeePotBookClub

I’m delighted to welcome Ron Allen Ames and his book, An Echo of Ashes, to the blog with an excerpt.

Excerpt

The bull then noticed Russell and immediately charged. “RUSSELL!” Ella screamed as Ruth restrained her from running into the corral.

From behind the pole, Russell held out the gun with his right hand and fired. Boom! Boom! Boom! Did he miss? The bull was almost on him! He frantically shot again. Boom! Boom! The hair flew from the animal’s brisket as the second bullet ripped through the beast’s jaw. The bull whirled and trotted back as it snorted and gurgled in the blood that ran from its mouth. Russell nervously clicked open the gun and shook out the spent casings. His quivering hand reached in his pocket for more ammunition, but he fumbled the cartridges, and they tumbled to the ground. He dropped to his knees, scraping his fingers through the dirt, jamming any bullet he found into the gun. Just then, the bull regained its composure and charged again.

Here’s the Blurb

An Echo of Ashes is a story lost to time, then found again in century-old letters that lay in a tattered box. Based on actual events taken from the pages, this story tells of when the Great War and the Spanish Influenza forever altered the lives of millions, including a family of subsistence farmers who also worked the oil fields of Pennsylvania.

Ella and Almon make their home in the backcountry. Almon and his sons work in the oil fields, just as their forefathers before them. As war and influenza break out, the parents seek to shield their family from the impending perils.

Earl, the eldest son, is a gifted trombone and piano player. He is captivated by Lucile Lake, a girl from a higher social status. All he has to win her heart are his music and his words as the military draft looms ever closer. Jack, a friend as close as a brother, faces the horrors of war at the Western Front. Albert’s free spirit creates chaos as he searches for direction. Arthur’s patriotism leads him to the Mexican border. Young Russell must suppress his fear to save a life, while Little Clara remains protected from the distress.

World War One and the Spanish Influenza Pandemic are most often documented separately, yet they intersected in 1918. For those who endured sacrifice and loss during this time, the sharp echo of tragedy carried through the ashes of what once was, likely dulled but never vanished from their minds. This is just one of countless stories from such a perilous chapter in American history.

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Meet the Author

Ron Allen Ames is a history enthusiast who attributes his 46 years of life experience as a hands-on business co-owner, for giving him insight into human nature, a benefit when portraying the lives of others. The information he received, dating from 1914 to 1919, is what prompted Ames to bring this history to light in An Echo of Ashes. 

Ames lives with his wife Cathy in Pennsylvania. They have two grown sons.

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Welcome to the blog tour for Shattered Peace by Julie McDonald Zander #HistoricalFiction #WWI #Timeslip #BlogTour #TheCoffeePotBookClub

Here’s the blurb

A forgotten diary. A century-old secret. A town still haunted by its past.

When former Navy Seabee Colleen Holmes inherits an old house in Centralia, Washington, she sees it as a chance to escape her own ghosts and start anew. But as she peels back layers of history within the home’s walls, she unearths long-buried secrets tied to a dark chapter in the town’s history.

Hidden behind crumbling plaster, a faded diary and a bundle of love letters unveil the struggles of a soldier trapped in the trenches of France and the heartbreak of those left waiting at home. Yet the diary’s brittle pages hold more than just longing—they bear witness to the explosive events of November 11, 1919, when a parade meant to celebrate peace erupted into violence and bloodshed.

As Colleen pieces together the tragic choices that shattered lives and fractured a town, she realizes history is never truly buried. The wounds of yesterday still shape today, and the past is not done with her yet.

Inspired by true events, Shattered Peace is a gripping time-slip novel of love, loss, and the echoes of history that refuse to fade. Perfect for fans of The Alice Network and The Girl You Left Behind, this haunting tale of resilience, redemption, and the pursuit of truth will linger long after the final page.

Triggers: It contains references to date rape, war violence, post-traumatic stress disorder, and faith and redemption

Purchase Link

https://books2read.com/u/4AyWBp

Book Trailer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nlh5nXX9bv8

Meet the author

Julie McDonald Zander, an award-winning journalist, earned a bachelor’s degree in communications and political science from the University of Washington before working two decades as a newspaper reporter and editor. Through her personal history company, Chapters of Life, she has published more than 75 individual, family, and community histories. 

Her debut novel, The Reluctant Pioneer, won a Will Rogers Medallion and was a finalist for the Western Writers of America’s Spur Award for Best Historical Novel.

She and her husband live in the Pacific Northwest, where they raised their two children.  

Author image for Jule McDonald Zander

Connect with the author

https://maczander.com

 

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I’m delighted to welcome Allie Creswell and her new book, The Standing Stone on the Moor, to the blog #HistoricalRomance #HistoricalFiction #Yorkshire #BlogTour #TheCoffeePotBookClub

I’m delighted to welcome Allue Creswell and her new book, The Standing Stone on the Moor, with a blog post about the accurate representation of diversity in historical fiction.

The accurate representation of diversity in historical fiction – by Allie Creswell

In recent times I have been challenged to ensure that my historical novels accurately represent the diversity that would have existed in their eras, but which was often ignored by writers of the time. For instance, Jane Austen’s novels have no black or ethnic minority characters, neither are there any characters with disabilities of any kind. Perhaps Sanditon was an attempt to rectify this, with a spa town ready to “cure” and a character described as “mulatto”. Mrs Smith, in Persuasion is incapacitated in some way due to injury. It could be argued that Tom Bertram in Mansfield Park suffers a crisis in mental health as well as from alcoholism, but these examples are insignificant when we think of the casts of white, healthy, ambulant and neurotypical characters in her books.

While wishing very much to be accurately inclusive and to embrace differently-abled characters as well as ones of non-white heritage, I would not wish to fall into the trap of tokenism. It is Amory Balfour’s superlative and remarkable beauty—rather than his skin colour—which makes him the perfect foil for my veiled heroine Georgina in The Lady in the Veil. Olivia, a character with Down Syndrome in The Cottage on Winter Moss is pivotal to the plot because she is privy to the village’s secrets—and a bit of a gossip—not because she has Down Syndrome.

For The Standing Stone on the Moor I wanted to introduce a group of characters who would bring some sparkle and pizzazz to a remote, parochial and insular village in Yorkshire. I wanted to shake the inhabitants up, and I also wanted to challenge them, to provoke their bigotry, suspicion and superstition into life because I wanted—in an oblique, non-confrontational way—to equate the situation of today’s asylum seekers and refugees with those who came to the UK for succour in the mid-nineteenth century. My aim in this approach was to add as many facets to my theme—displacement—as possible, and it seemed to me that there could be no clearer illustration of it than the experience of people hounded from their homes and forced to establish themselves elsewhere.

The potato famine was at its peak in 1845, and thousands of Irish people made the trip to Britian in search of work and to escape the dreadful conditions at home. There was a kind of serendipity in this, in that the burgeoning industrial revolution in Britain had an insatiable requirement for workers in mills, factories, mines and to dig the canals—an activity which thousands of Irish undertook, giving rise to the characteristic designation of the “Irish navvy”.

Many British rural people had migrated to the towns for the improved wages these positions offered, but that left a deficit of labour in the countryside, which my Irish people seek to fill. The group is predominantly women and children. The few men in the group have conditions which ill-suit them to work in an industrial setting—one has asthma, another has suffered an amputation of the lower arm. They shear sheep and make hay, dig peat and move stones—anything at all that will pay. They get involved in the movement of contraband goods, and play shamelessly on their reputation for fortune-telling and mysticism, but this backfires on them. They establish themselves in a camp at a discreet distance from the village, next to an ancient standing stone. They bring their rich culture of music and dance, their entrepreneurship, their admirable work ethic, their predominantly Catholic religion and also of course their baggage—of suffering, loss and grief that prompted their journey, not to mention the trauma of that very displacement. 

And this group of Irish people also brings Dónall, a young man with an intellectual disability.

My research into the ways people with intellectual disabilities were viewed and treated in the 19th century unearthed some dreadful facts. They were often labelled as “idiots” or “lunatics” and faced significant stigma and marginalization. They were frequently confined to institutions like workhouses and asylums, sometimes under harsh and inhumane conditions. These institutions, initially intended for a few hundred people, grew to house over 100,000 by the end of the century. At this time mental health treatment had not been developed and so conditions which we recognise and treat today as mental illnesses were considered signs of madness. Those displaying symptoms were locked away from society. So it was safe to assume that people rarely encountered those with intellectual disabilities, and my character Dónall would therefore likely be the target of stares, pointing fingers and worse.

Dónall had been deprived of oxygen at birth and though a strapping young man physically, aged in his early twenties, he has the intellectual age of a young child. Physically and sexually he is mature, but he lacks the mental scope to understand or control the natural urges of his body. This essential conflict feeds into the overarching theme of the book—displacement. Dónall is a boy in a man’s body, a child in a man’s world. He has adult compulsions of attraction towards Aoife, his cousin, but he also looks to her for the kind of reassurance and guidance a mother or older sister might provide. 

Developing Dónall’s character was a delicate matter. I wanted him to be a character with a disability, rather than “a disabled character”, with a real role to play in the plot. I wanted to draw out the way the contradiction of his character affected him, to allow the reader to see his essential kindness and innocence but also his confusion, and the great passion in his soul.

Conn and Dónall lay in their makeshift beds beneath the wagon and watched the men depart on their clandestine business.

‘Where’re they going?’ Dónall asked.

‘They go to do some moonlight work,’ said Conn knowledgeably. ‘Poaching, perhaps.’ 

Dónall creased his brow. ‘Rabbits?’

‘Deer, more likely, or pheasant. Go to sleep, Dónall. We are to work alongside the men tomorrow.’

‘There is no market,’ said Dónall, yawning. And then, after such a pause that Conn thought he must be asleep, ‘Your mother has a baby in her belly.’

Conn sighed. ‘Yes.

‘How did it get there?’

Conn turned his head. Dónall’s pale eyes shone in the darkness. ‘I suppose my father put it there. Do you not know about such things?’

Dónall shook his head. His face creased this way and that as he tried to get his thoughts into a shape he could manage but in the end he only said, ‘Aoife would not say.’

‘You have seen the dogs do it often enough,’ said Conn. ‘It is like that, I suppose, but Father Fearghal says that people must wait until they are married, or it is a sin. I would not trouble yourself about it.’

‘Aoife is not married,’ Dónall said, partly comforted, party distressed, partly fascinated

‘Not yet, anyway.’ Conn yawned. ‘Good night, Dónall.’ He turned on his side, but Dónall rose up onto one elbow.

‘Aoife can’t … No. She mustn’t …’ 

Conn turned back to look at him. ‘Mustn’t get married?’

‘N… no.’ Dónall swallowed thickly. ‘And there mustn’t be … a baby,’ he said.

Conn settled himself back down. ‘I know what you mean. There isn’t enough to go around as it is. But babies do come once the vows are exchanged. They do not seem to be able to stop themselves.’

Dónall said, ‘My mother … she died …’

Conn sighed. ‘Yes, I know, Dónall. It sometimes happens. And sometimes the baby dies. Father Fearghal says it is God’s will. Is that why you don’t want Aoife to have a baby? Because you worry that she will die?’

Dónall thought about it for a while. ‘No,’ he said at last. ‘It is because … because … I do not want to share.’

When Dónall’s impulses get the better of him, he commits a crime for which there will be serious consequences. At best, a life in an asylum. At worst, hanging. It is not his disability per se which is the catalyst, but its manifestation within his character and the situation into which I placed him. Dónall’s perilous situation forces his Irish friends and Beth, my main character, to attempt a daring and dangerous trip across the moors in the dead of night, dodging the mounted guard.

One of the quite beautiful things that emerged as I wrote Dónall’s character was the way his Irish family love and care for him, and the ways they allow him to contribute to their communal well-being. At mealtimes he is placed among the children, where he soothes tiredness and squabbling with a timely tickle or cuddle. During the day he works alongside the men, having twice the strength of some, moving stones. His strengths are celebrated, his weaknesses compensated for and never ridiculed or criticised.

Dónall knuckled the tears from his eyes and leaned against Ruairi as a child would have done after being separated for even a few moments from a beloved parent’s affection, and allowed himself to be soothed and comforted before being led towards the circle and seated on the upturned barrel that would normally have been Ruairi’s own preserve. 

‘There now,’ said Ruairi. ‘You shall have a man’s seat and a man’s portion of supper and a glass of grog to wash it down with since you have done a man’s work today.’

Dónall nodded and tried a watery smile.

In developing Dónall’s character I was very lucky to have the support and incredible expertise of Deirdre O’Grady (https://www.abilitywise.ie/) who is my sensitivity reader. Deirdre has a H-Dip in Facilitating Inclusion, diplomas in psychology and disability studies and years of experience of raising awareness of the needs of those with disabilities within the workplace and the community. She is an ambassador for diversity, equality and inclusion who is also an expert in mental health, addiction and domestic abuse.

Here’s the blurb

Yorkshire, 1845.


Folklore whispers that they used to burn witches at the standing stone on the moor. When the wind is easterly, it wails a strange lament. History declares it was placed as a marker, visible for miles—a signpost for the lost, directing them towards home.

Forced from their homeland by the potato famine, a group of itinerant Irish refugees sets up camp by the stone. They are met with suspicion by the locals, branded as ‘thieves and ne’er-do-wells.’ Only Beth Harlish takes pity on them, and finds herself instantly attracted to Ruairi, their charismatic leader.


Beth is the steward of nearby manor Tall Chimneys—a thankless task as the owners never visit. An educated young woman, Beth feels restless, like she doesn’t belong. But somehow ‘home’—the old house, the moor and the standing stone—exerts an uncanny magnetism. Thus Ruairi’s great sacrifice—deserting his beloved Irish homestead to save his family—resonates strongly with her.


Could she leave her home to be with him? Will he even ask her to?


As she struggles with her feelings, things take a sinister turn. The peaceable village is threatened by shrouded men crossing the moor at night, smuggling contraband from the coast. Worse, the exotic dancing of a sultry-eyed Irishwoman has local men in a feverish grip. Their womenfolk begin to mutter about spells and witchcraft. And burning.


The Irish refugees must move on, and quickly. Will Beth choose an itinerant life with Ruairi? Or will the power of ‘home’ be too strong?

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Meet the Author

Allie has been writing fiction since she could hold a pencil. She has a BA and an MA in English Literature, specialising in the classics of the nineteenth century.

She has been a print-buyer, a pub landlady, a bookkeeper and the owner of a group of boutique holiday cottage but nowadays she writes full time.

She has two grownup children, five grandchildren and two cockapoos but just one husband, Tim. They live in the remote northwest of the UK.

The Standing Stone on the Moor is her sixteenth novel.

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I’m delighted to welcome Heidi Eljarbo and her new book, The Dutch Muse, to the blog #HistoricalMystery #ArtHistory #DualTimeline #CozyMystery #BlogTour #TheCoffeePotBookClub

I’m delighted to welcome Heidi Eljarbo and her new book, The Dutch Muse, A Fabiola Bennett Mystery, to the blog.

Here’s the Blurb

A ruthless thief leaves a private Dutch gallery with a coveted seventeenth-century painting. The owner lies unconscious on the floor. Art historian Fabiola Bennett is on vacation in Holland and takes on the case.

Amsterdam, 1973.
It’s late summer, and Fabiola and Pippa join their friend, Cary, for a few days of sightseeing, museums, and riding bikes around the beautiful city.


For the first time in her life, Fabiola feels a pang of jealousy, and rude comments from a gallerist make her doubt her own abilities.

Then, unexpectedly, Cary’s Dutch client, Lennard van de Hoek, is brutally struck down and a baroque portrait by Ferdinand Bol is stolen. Fabiola pushes aside her problems and jumps into danger without hesitation. The list of suspects is long, and with a cold-blooded criminal at large, they must constantly be on the alert.

Amsterdam, 1641.
Ferdinand Bol has completed his five-year training with Master Rembrandt van Rijn and is ready to set up his own studio. The future looks bright, and Ferdinand sets a goal to become a widely sought-after and, hopefully, prosperous master portraitist.


Just when Ferdinand’s career starts to flourish—and patrons and customers discover his exceptional talent—one of his models confesses she’s in deep trouble, and he drops everything to help her.

This is a fast-paced and captivating who-done-it set in the Netherlands—the fourth installment and a spin-off from the Soli Hansen Mysteries.

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Meet the Author

HEIDI ELJARBO grew up in a home full of books, artwork, and happy creativity. She is the author of historical novels filled with courage, hope, mystery, adventure, and sweet romance during challenging times. She’s been named a master of dual timelines and often writes about strong-willed women of past centuries.

After living in Canada, six US states, Japan, Switzerland, and Austria, Heidi now calls Norway home. She lives with her husband on a charming island and enjoys walking in any kind of weather, hugging her grandchildren, and has a passion for art and history. 

Her family’s chosen retreat is a mountain cabin, where they hike in the summer and ski the vast white terrain during winter.

Heidi’s favorites are her family, God’s beautiful nature, and the word whimsical.

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Check out The Paris Portrait.

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I’m delighted to welcome S.P. Somtow and his book, Nero and Sporus, to the blog #HistoricalFiction #AncientRome #LGBTQFiction #BlogTour #TheCoffeePotBookClub

I’m delighted to welcome S.P. Somtow and his book, Nero and Sporus, to the blog with an excerpt.

Excerpt

“Can you not posture in such a boyish manner, domine?  You’ll ruin the effect.”

“What effect?”

“My dear domine, can you turn that wrist more daintily?  Can you not stampede about the room like a raging adolescent lad?”

“Is that not what I am?”

“You will play a role, domine.  And if you don’t do it well, it will fare badly for us, as well.”

Realizing that their fates as well as mine rested on my performance, I sat still while they padded my hips and chest a little, and while a cosmetician painted my face with delicate strokes, and two others teased and piled my hair.

And presently I found myself looking at my reflection in a mirror of polished bronze and I was transformed.  My hair was elaborately coifed and extended with a tall wig.  Exotic fabrics caressed my skin, and an outer layer of rich purple left no doubt as to my Imperial status.  The fibula I recognized was holding it all together at one shoulder.  Lead white gave my face an unearthly pallor and my lips were stained blood-crimson.

I stood taller.  Arrogance flecked my lips.  I felt ennobled.  Entitled, indeed.

I was not just the Divine Poppaea Sabina, Mistress of the World.  I was an idealized version of the Empress.  And I have to admit that, in these garments, my way of moving, my way of walking, shifted towards the feminine.  It was instinctive.  I never felt beautiful as a boy, but as a woman, as an Empress …

Perhaps it was just a role, but I was pulling something from deep within myself. 

Here’s the Blurb

Finally available in one volume! The decadence of Imperial Rome comes to life in S.P. Somtow’s Literary Titan Award-winning novel about one of ancient history’s wildest characters.

The historian Suetonius tells us that the Emperor Nero emasculated and married his slave Sporus, the spitting image of murdered Empress Poppaea. But history has more tidbits about Sporus, who went from “puer delicatus” to Empress to one Emperor and concubine to another, and ended up being sentenced to play the Earth-Goddess in the arena.

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This title is available to read on #KindleUnlimited

Meet the Author

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, joining established classics like Frankenstein and Dracula. He has also published children’s books, a historical novel, and about a hundred works of short fiction.

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. His seventy-plus books have sold about two million copies world-wide. He has been nominated for or won over forty awards in the fields of science fiction, fantasy, and horror.

After becoming a Buddhist monk for a period in 2001, Somtow decided to refocus his attention on the country of his birth, founding Bangkok’s first international opera company and returning to music, where he again reinvented himself, this time as a neo-Asian neo-Romantic composer. The Norwegian government commissioned his song cycle Songs Before Dawn for the 100th Anniversary of the Nobel Peace Prize, and he composed at the request of the government of Thailand his Requiem: In Memoriam 9/11 which was dedicated to the victims of the 9/11 tragedy.

According to London’s Opera magazine, ‘in just five years, Somtow has made Bangkok into the operatic hub of Southeast Asia.’ His operas on Thai themes, Madana and Mae Naak, have been well received by international critics.

Somtow has recently been awarded the 2017 Europa Cultural Achievement Award for his work in bridging eastern and western cultures. In 2020 he returned to science fiction after a twenty-year absence with “Homeworld of the Heart”, a fifth novel in the Inquestor series.

Currently he has just finished Nero and Sporus, a massive historical novel set in Imperial Rome.

To support S.P. Somtow’s work, visit his patreon account at patreon.com/spsomtow. His website is at www.somtow.com.

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I’m delighted to welcome Amanda Roberts and her new book, Lady of the Quay, to the blog #LadyoftheQuay #Tudors #HistoricalFiction #HistoricalMystery #BlogTour #TheCoffeePotBookClub

I’m delighted to welcome Amanda Roberts and her new book, Lady of the Quay, Book 1 in the Isabella Gillhespy Series, to the blog with a snippet.

Snippet

‘Drink?’ I asked, gesturing towards the cabinet. He removed his hat, threw it onto a chair, and shook his head.

‘I’m here on business.’

That had never stopped him before. My heart had already sunk into my stomach, and his curt reply sent it plummeting to my feet. I had envisaged a cosy chat, me resting on my settle, him in his favourite chair, either side of the fire. A scene we had populated so many times in the past. But I already knew that was not going to happen. I did not sit down, but faced him, both of us standing somewhat awkwardly in the middle of the room.

‘Well?’ I challenged him to speak first. If we got the business out of the way we might be able to move on to resolve the more personal difficulties that stood between us, a wall as impenetrable as those surrounding Berwick. But like our town defences, every wall has its gates. I just needed to find Will’s gate.

Here’s the Blurb

Knowing she is innocent is easy … proving it is hard

1560, Berwick-upon-Tweed, northern England

Following the unexpected death of her father, a series of startling discoveries about the business she inherits forces Isabella Gillhespy to re-evaluate everything she understands about her past and expects from her future.

Facing financial ruin, let down by people on whom she thought she could rely, and suspected of crimes that threaten her freedom, Isabella struggles to prove her innocence.

But the stakes are even higher than she realises. In a town where tension between England and her Scottish neighbours is never far from the surface, it isn’t long before developments attract the interest of the highest authority in the land, Sir William Cecil, and soon Isabella is fighting, not just for her freedom, but her life. She must use her wits and trust her own instincts to survive.

Lady of the Quay introduces an enticing new heroine who refuses to be beaten, even as it becomes clear that her life will never be the same again.

From the author of the award-winning ‘The Woman in the Painting’.

Buy Link

Universal Link

This title is available to read on #KindleUnlimited

Meet the Author

Amanda Roberts has worked as an Editor in business-to-business magazines for over 30 years, specialising in out-of-home coffee, vending and foodservice/catering, including Editor of the global gastronomy title: ‘Revue internationale de la Chaîne des Rôtisseurs’.

She currently freelances, editing UK-based healthcare titles – HEFMA Pulse, Hospital Food + Service and Hospital Caterer. She is a member of the Society of Authors, the Historical Novel Society and West Oxfordshire Writers. She also volunteers for Tea Books (part of Age UK) to run a book club/reading group for elderly people in the community.

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I love celebrating book birthdays, and today it’s the 5th book birthday for Luminous by Samantha Wilcoxson HistoricalBiographicalFiction #HistoricalFiction #RadiumGirls #TrueStory #BookBirthday #BlogTour #TheCoffeePotBookClub 

Here’s the blurb

Tragic true story of a radium girl.

Catherine’s life is set on an unexpected course when she accepts a job at Radium Dial. The dial painters forge friendships and enjoy their work but soon discover that an evil secret lurks in the magical glow-in-the-dark paint. When she and her friends start falling ill, Catherine Donohoe takes on the might of a big corporation and becomes an early pioneer of social justice in the era between world wars.

Emotive and inspiring – this book will touch you like no other as you witness the devastating impact of radium poisoning on young women’s lives.

It’s too late for me, but maybe it will help some of the others.

~ Catherine Wolfe Donohue

Buy Link

https://mybook.to/luminous

This title is available to read on #KindleUnlimited.

Meet the author

Writer, history enthusiast, and sufferer of wanderlust, Samantha enjoys exploring the lives of historical figures through research and travel. She strives to reveal the deep emotions and motivations of historical figures, enabling readers to connect with them in a unique way. Samantha is an American writer with British roots and proud mother of three amazing young adults. She can frequently be found lakeside with a book in one hand and glass of wine in the other.

Samantha’s most recent release is a biography of James Alexander Hamilton published by Pen & Sword History. She is currently writing a trilogy set during the Wars of the Roses for Sapere Books.

Author Samantha Wilcoxson

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I’m delighted to share an excerpt from Death and the Poet, a Roman-era historical mystery by Fiona Forsyth HistoricalMystery #RomanHistoricalFiction #AncientRome #Ovid #BlogTour #TheCoffeePotBookClub 

Here’s an exciting excerpt from Death and the Poet

Ovid gives a recital

July 2, or 6 days before the Nones

The recital took place in the late afternoon at the town’s main square on top of the hill overlooking the harbour. Entertainment in Tomis was infrequent and modest, with maybe a serious theatre performance in the spring in honour of Dionysus, and the occasional touring group performing comedies. There were rumours of a gladiator show, once they were a proper province, but for the moment, poetry was exciting enough to a Greek audience and Ovid was, after all, famous. People drifted into the square carrying chairs, stools and even cushions, unpacked their picnics and handed around pitchers of wine. Fabia was invited to sit in a roped-off area, where three rows of chairs had been laid out for special guests. In the central seat was Apollous, that year’s archon, and the members of the Town Council and their wives all lined up to express themselves thrilled to meet Fabia. Nobody was so indelicate as to mention the fact that Ovid was in Tomis because he had no choice.

Settled with an extra shawl because Flora had been certain that she would feel chilly even on a beautiful summer day, Fabia began to enjoy herself. She looked around the crowd, marking off people as Roman, Greek and Dacian, spotting several men with light coloured hair and beards and wearing leggings – surely they must be from the local tribes mentioned by her husband. It was harder to make any judgement on the female population, for every woman was wrapped up in a long dress, just as she was.

The poet first declaimed a well-known passage from his great poem on mythology, the Metamorphoses. He told the story of the god Apollo’s love of the nymph Daphne:

Just as when a careless dawn traveller has swept his torch too close to the stubble left in the field when the wheat is taken, setting the dry hedges on fire – so the god goes up in the flames of love.

Fabia saw the knowing nods as local landowners remembered threats to their own precious crops, and an audible murmur betrayed the audience’s opinion of firebugs.

Ovid then recited a poem Fabia had not heard before, one with a Tomis setting, but without the criticisms she had grown used to. She was pleased. There had been too many “Woe is me!” moments in Ovid’s poetry recently and he needed to acknowledge to this audience how grateful he was to them.

Ovid finished with a passage from the Fasti, an ambitious work which he planned would cover the major religious festivals of Rome. It was serious and noble and a little boring, though Fabia knew from her mother that Ovid’s work on this poem was considered skilful by those who knew about such things. She was amused to hear a young woman nearby whisper, “I thought he was a famous writer of love poetry?”

“Oh my dear,” thought Fabia, “Ovid will not be reciting any of his love poems here. They got him into enough trouble in Rome. I doubt your father would like you hearing about how a Roman lad goes on the prowl through the arcades of the city or lies wailing at the door of his beloved.”

Here’s the blurb

14 AD.

When Dokimos the vegetable seller is found bludgeoned to death in the Black Sea town of Tomis, it’s the most exciting thing to have happened in the region for years. Now reluctantly settled into life in exile, the disgraced Roman poet Ovid helps his friend Avitius to investigate the crime, with the evidence pointing straight at a cuckolded neighbour.


But Ovid is also on edge, waiting for the most momentous death of all. Augustus, the first Emperor of Rome, is nearing his end, and the future of the whole Roman world is uncertain.


Even as far away as Tomis, this political shadow creates tension as the pompous Roman legate Flaccus thinks more of his career than solving a local murder.

Avitius and Ovid become convinced that an injustice has been done in the case of the murdered vegetable seller. But Flaccus continues to turn a deaf ear.


When Ovid’s wife, Fabia, arrives unexpectedly, carrying a cryptic message from the Empress Livia, the poet becomes distracted – and another crime is committed. 

Ovid hopes for a return to Rome – only to discover that he is under threat from an enemy much closer to home.

Triggers: murder, references to slavery, domestic abuse, alcohol, cancer

Buy Link

https://books2read.com/u/brx0WY

This title is available to read on #KindleUnlimited.

Meet the author

Fiona studied Classics at Oxford before teaching it for 25 years. A family move to Qatar gave her the opportunity to write about ancient Rome, and she is now back in the UK, working on her seventh novel.

Author Fiona Forsyth

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I’m sharing an excerpt from Tangled in Water by Pam Records HistoricalFiction #Prohibition #Mermaid #BlogTour #TheCoffeePotBookClub 

Excerpt

“Hello there, Nattie, honey,” called Mimi in her honey-sweet voice as she popped out of the door behind the curtains. 

Mimi wasn’t much older than the chorus line girls. She was like a big sister, looking out for them, scolding and nagging, doing her part to make the performances alluring. Mimi liked to say “alluring,” and then she would do a mouth pucker and put one hand on her hip and the other in the air with her wrist cocked like she was holding a bunch of potatoes. Nattie only made the mistake of mocking her once. 

Mimi had been a model when she was very young, or so she said. That was hard to imagine. She walked like a penguin on stubby short legs. And she wore glasses, big round frames that made her look like an owl. If Antonio was around, she took them off, an interesting fact to ponder. Just like the come-and-go French accent. Mimi lack conviction. 

The game’s exhausting, isn’t it, Mimi? You have to breathe it, Mimi. Be it. Look at me. I bleed turquoise. Piss magenta. Fart like a flounder.    

Today, Mimi was carrying a stack of costumes over her arm, all neatly repaired, booze stains laundered, ready to be delivered backstage. Nattie could see long white gloves with buttons and black lace and see-through fabrics with tassels and snaps for flinging off and dropping on the stage. 

Ba-da-boom. Hey, baby. 

Sometimes the girls ripped too hard. Or the men.

Ba-da-boom. Take it off, baby.

Snaps had to be reattached, tears stitched up or patched. Mimi, the penguin seamstress, made the inconvenient flaws go away so they could come back again. And again. Maybe she needed stronger thread, maybe wires reinforced with defiance. Or electricity. Wouldn’t that be a hot, sizzling hoot?

“Nattie, have you brushed that hair of yours this week?” asked Mimi, hand on hip, her mouth all puckered. “My God. And to think I have a new crown for you to wear. A gift. Real jewels. And I have to bobby pin it to that rat’s nest?” The woman shook her head. No accent needed for that. 

Here’s the blurb

1932. Natalia is 16 and a bootlegger’s daughter, playing the mermaid mascot on a rundown paddlewheel used to entertain brewers and distributors. 

A sequined costume hides her scarred and misshaped legs, but it can’t cover up the painful memories and suspicions that haunt her. An eccentric healer who treats patients with Old Country tonics, tries to patch wounds, but only adds to the heartache. A fierce storm threatens to destroy everything, including a stash of stolen jewels. 

1941. Prohibition is over, but the same henchmen still run the show. Nattie’s new mermaid act is more revealing, with more at risk. When the dry-docked paddlewheel is bought by the US Navy for training exercises, the pressure escalates further. 

Can Nattie entice a cocky US Navy officer to help her gain access to the ship for one last chance to confront her past, settle scores, and retrieve the hidden loot? Is there a new course ahead?

Buy Links

Ebook

Paperback

Hardcover

Meet the author

Pam and her husband, Mark, recently uprooted from the Midwest to move to Savannah, Georgia, the perfect place for enjoying the beach, historic architecture and Spanish moss. 

She’s recently retired from writing content for software companies and now focuses on writing fiction, camping, and exploring historic cities.

Pam is the author of three historic novels. 

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