Wednesday, March 29, 2023

Check out MJ Porter's fabulous novel – Pagan King #HistoricalFiction #BlogTour #CoffeePotBookClub @coloursofunison @cathiedunn



Pagan King

The Seventh Century

by MJ Porter



Publication Date: April 21st, 2016
Publisher: MJ Publishing
Pages: 300
Genre: Historical Fiction / Action & Adventure
Audiobook: narrated by Matt Coles


From bestselling author, MJ Porter comes the tale of the mighty pagan king, Penda of Mercia.

The year is AD641, and the great Oswald of Northumbria, bretwalda over England, must battle against an alliance of the old Britons and the Saxons led by Penda of the Hwicce, the victor of Hæ∂feld nine years before, the only Saxon leader seemingly immune to Oswald's beguiling talk of the new Christianity spreading through England from both the north and the south.

Alliances will be made and broken, and the victory will go to the man most skilled in warcraft and statecraft.

The ebb and flow of battle will once more redraw the lines of the petty kingdoms stretching across the British Isles.

There will be another victor and another bloody loser.






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M J Porter



MJ Porter is the author of many historical novels set predominantly in Seventh to Eleventh-Century England, as well as three twentieth-century mysteries. Raised in the shadow of a building that was believed to house the bones of long-dead Kings of Mercia, meant that the author’s writing destiny was set.

Connect with MJ Porter:

Website • Twitter • Facebook • LinkedIn • Instagram • Pinterest • BookBub


Connect with narrator, Matt Coles:





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Monday, March 27, 2023

Blog Tour: Try the Leopard's Mouth by Charles Moberly



Join The Coffee Pot Book Club on tour with…


Try the Leopard’s Mouth

by Charles Moberly




May 8th - 12th, 2023

Publication Date: March 12th, 2023
Publisher: Tancava Press
Pages: 375
Genre: Historical Thriller / Romance


AFRICA. 1970

Briony and Tom, both in their twenties, are very different characters. But opposites attract. In business, as in love, they complement each other.

They buy a farm and discover a rare drug. Tom grows it and Briony markets it. At first, they are oblivious of their responsibilities to the land and its people. But gradually they realise that they have been supporting a racist and colonialist regime.

The onset of the Rhodesian – Zimbabwean War of Independence tears at the couple’s relationship. Misunderstandings arise from their conflicting personalities and from external pressures. Events pull them apart, but also bind them together.

Try the Leopard’s Mouth is a romantic thriller set in Africa. It is also a historical novel, grounded in real events in the period 1970-80.


Buy Links

This title is available to read on #KindleUnlimited.





Charles Moberly

Charles on Mount Kilimanjaro


Charles Moberly has written three novels to date:

The Scrotum Toad, a satirical comedy (Winner of a Chill with a Book Reader Award); The Corncrake, a historical novel set in 1909-10 and 1914-15   (Winner of a Chill with a Book  Premier Award.)

In The Corncrake, four members of a family share the narration, which passes between them approximately 300 times throughout - this powerful technique allows the reader to enter the minds of the characters as they react to events, so that love, conflicts and misunderstandings are conveyed immediately. This is only possible if the voices of the characters are so strong that they are identifiable the moment they speak.

Try the Leopard’s Mouth is a romantic thriller with a firm historical base.

Charles lived and worked in Africa for two years, which explains why two of his novels are set there.

In his writing, he loves tension and how cultural differences can tear people apart, yet unite them through a common humanity. He believes that no two characters should ever have the same voice. He writes in the vernacular of the time and place, using slang where appropriate. 
 
He now lives in the UK. 




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Sunday, March 26, 2023

Sunday Snippet: Thames Valley Tales by Tim Walker #SundaySnippet #ShortStories #TheCoffeePotBookClub @timwalker1666 @cathiedunn




Thames Valley Tales

A Short Stories Collection

by Tim Walker



#SundaySnippet

Publication Date: March 20th, 2023
Publisher: Independently published
Pages: 155
Genre: Anthology / Short Story Collection
Audiobook narrated by Richard James


Thames Valley Tales is a light-hearted yet thought-provoking collection of nine stories by Tim Walker.

These tales are based on the author’s experience of living in Thames Valley towns, and combine contemporary themes with the rich history and legends associated with an area stretching from the heart of rural England to London.

The collection includes The Goldfish Bowl, in which an unlikely friendship is struck between a pop star and an arms dealer in Goring-on-Thames; Maidenhead Thicket, where the ghost of legendary highwayman, Dick Turpin surprises a Council surveyor; The White Horse intrigue surrounding the dating of the famous chalk carving on the Berkshire Downs; Murder at Henley Regatta, a beguiling whodunit, and The Colnbrook Caper, a pacey crime thriller. Thames Valley Tales starts with The Grey Lady, a ghost story from the English Civil War, and features The Merry Women of Windsor in a whimsical updating of Shakespeare’s classic play. The Author’s Note explains the context and reasoning behind each story.

Thames Valley Tales oscillates from light-hearted to dark historical and at times humorous stories ideally suited to bedtime or holiday reading that will amuse, delight and, hopefully, inform the reader about the rich history of the Thames Valley as it winds 215 miles from the Gloucestershire countryside, past many towns and villages to London and out to the North Sea. The book also has a factual chapter and map of the Thames Valley showing the towns through which the 184-mile Thames Path passes. It’s a walk-through history and the natural beauty of England that will inspire and captivate.

Thames Valley Tales, second edition, is available in audiobook, Kindle e-book and paperback from Amazon worldwide, and can also be found on Kindle Unlimited.



The story: The Merry Women of Windsor is a whimsical update of the plot of Shakespeare’s play. A women’s keep fit group who regularly meet at Windsor Leisure Centre are mocked and sexually harassed by their egotistical trainer, Roger Faultstaff. The plucky and resourceful women come up with a plan to expose Roger as a sex pest and take him down a peg or two…

“To celebrate Midsummer’s Day, in the true pagan tradition, we’re going to hold a medieval-themed fancy dress party in Windsor Great Park. We’ll invite Roger and come up with some way to expose him as a sex pest. The Park doesn’t close to the public, due to its large area, so we’re able to meet in the western car park at nine in the evening. Then we can make our fancy-dress procession as the sun goes down to the old oak tree, damaged by lightening, where legend has it, Herne the Hunter hanged himself, before being re-born as a spirit, hunting across the night sky.”

A hush had fallen on the group, and Maggie saw that she had a captive audience. She decided to give them the full story, as she had recently researched it online. “Let me tell you about the legend of Herne the Hunter. It’s a folk tale dating back to the time of King Richard II, who lived at Windsor Castle and hunted in the Windsor Great Forest in the 1380s. The legend tells of a mighty hunter called Herne – his name means ‘Leader of the Wild Hunt’, a name associated with the Saxon god Woden.

“One day he was wounded by the antlers of a huge stag, whilst protecting the King. King Richard allowed him to keep the antlers of the slain stag as a trophy and further rewarded him for his bravery by appointing him Leader of the Hunt. However, the man who had healed Herne, out of jealousy, put a spell on him so that he lost his ability to track deer. This led to the King dismissing Herne from his service, and, in despair, he hanged himself from an old oak tree in the forest.” ...






Tim Walker


Tim Walker is an independent author living near Windsor in the UK. He grew up in Liverpool where he began his working life as a trainee reporter on a local newspaper. After graduating, he moved to London where he worked in the newspaper publishing industry for ten years before relocating to Zambia where, following a period of voluntary work with VSO, he set up his own marketing and publishing business. He returned to the UK in 2009.

His creative writing journey began in earnest in 2014, as a therapeutic activity whilst recovering from cancer treatment. He began writing an historical fiction series, A Light in the Dark Ages, inspired by a visit to the site of a former Roman town. The series connects the end of Roman Britain to elements of the Arthurian legend and is inspired by historical source material, presenting an imagined history of Britain in the fifth and early sixth centuries. 

Book one is Abandoned (second edition 2018); followed by Ambrosius: Last of the Romans (2017) and Uther’s Destiny (2018). The last two books in the series, Arthur Dux Bellorum (2019) and Arthur Rex Brittonum (2020) cover the life of an imaged historical King Arthur, and are both Coffee Pot Book Club recommended reads.

In 2021 he published a dual timeline historical novel, Guardians at the Wall. This was inspired by visits to Vindolanda and Corbridge at Hadrian’s Wall, and concerns the efforts of archaeologists to uncover evidence and build a narrative of the life of a Roman centurion in second century Britannia… and find his missing payroll chest.

Tim has also written three books of short stories, Thames Valley Tales (2015, second edition 2023), Postcards from London (2017) and Perverse (2020); a dystopian thriller, Devil Gate Dawn (2016); and three children’s books, co-authored with his daughter, Cathy – The Adventures of Charly Holmes (2017), Charly & the Superheroes (2018) and Charly in Space (2020).

He plans to re-work some stories in Postcards from London into London Tales, with the addition of new stories, for publication in 2024 in audiobook, Kindle and paperback.

Connect with Tim:
Website • Twitter • Facebook • Instagram 





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Saturday, March 25, 2023

Book of the Month: The Briton and the Dane: Legacy by Mary Ann Bernal #HistoricalFiction #BookOfTheMonth #TheCoffeePotBookClub @BritonandDane @cathiedunn



Legacy

The Briton and the Dane

by Mary Ann Bernal



* Book of the Month *

Publication Date: April 21st, 2013 (2nd edition)
Publisher: Self-published
Pages: 352
Genre: Historical Fiction


One man's blind rage decides the fate of a nation.

Whispered by the wise and the learned. Talked of in hushed tones around luminous firesides. Engraved by awestruck scribes in the scriptoria of the Chronicles. Against all the odds, great King Alfred defeated a vastly superior Danish army outside Chippenham. This victory, the sages prophesied, would guarantee peace throughout the land. Or so they thought.

Two years later, Rigr the Bastard, vengeful and seeking to claim his birthright, was defeated in the wilds of East Anglia. His blood smeared berserker warriors vanquished; no quarter asked for - no quarter given. Now, a further two years later, the Vikings return. Noble Prince Sven instigates a seaborne invasion, fuelled partly by blind rage when he discovers that his brother, Prince Erik, has sworn fealty to the Anglo-Saxon king. His own brother: A traitor and a fool.

Erik’s love, Lady Gwyneth, attempts to stop the invasion before it starts by uniting the two estranged brothers, but her scheming only succeeds in making matters worse. Indeed, her interference guarantees the death of thousands of warriors in the freezing, tumultuous North Sea. So when the horns of Sven’s monumental fleet of warships are heard off the fogbound coast of Britannia, King Alfred – outnumbered, out shipped and weary of the fray - must rouse his jaded Saxon warriors and lead them to sea, to repel his most formidable enemy yet.

For a host motivated by the spilled blood of the fallen, the spirit of black vengeance, and the delights of a warrior’s reward in Valhalla, is the most fearsome opponent of all. Alfred. Sven. Erik. Gwyneth. Amidst the ferrous reverberation of a battle royale - one or all must die, and the fate of a nation hangs in the balance, one final time.

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Monday, March 20, 2023

#HistoricalFiction author Tim Walker shares his inspiration for his heartwarming stories collection based on local legends, Thames Valley Tales – #BookSpotlight #CoffeePotBookClub @timwalker1666 @cathiedunn



Thames Valley Tales

by Tim Walker



⭐ 2nd Edition & Audiobook Release Day Spotlight ⭐

Publication Date: March 20th, 2023
Publisher: Independently published
Pages: 155
Genre: Anthology / Short Story Collection
Audiobook narrated by Richard James


Thames Valley Tales is a light-hearted yet thought-provoking collection of nine stories by Tim Walker.

These tales are based on the author’s experience of living in Thames Valley towns, and combine contemporary themes with the rich history and legends associated with an area stretching from the heart of rural England to London.

The collection includes The Goldfish Bowl, in which an unlikely friendship is struck between a pop star and an arms dealer in Goring-on-Thames; Maidenhead Thicket, where the ghost of legendary highwayman, Dick Turpin surprises a Council surveyor; The White Horse intrigue surrounding the dating of the famous chalk carving on the Berkshire Downs; Murder at Henley Regatta, a beguiling whodunit, and The Colnbrook Caper, a pacey crime thriller. Thames Valley Tales starts with The Grey Lady, a ghost story from the English Civil War, and features The Merry Women of Windsor in a whimsical updating of Shakespeare’s classic play. The Author’s Note explains the context and reasoning behind each story.

Thames Valley Tales oscillates from light-hearted to dark historical and at times humorous stories ideally suited to bedtime or holiday reading that will amuse, delight and, hopefully, inform the reader about the rich history of the Thames Valley as it winds 215 miles from the Gloucestershire countryside, past many towns and villages to London and out to the North Sea. The book also has a factual chapter and map of the Thames Valley showing the towns through which the 184-mile Thames Path passes. It’s a walk-through history and the natural beauty of England that will inspire and captivate.

Thames Valley Tales, second edition, is available in audiobook, Kindle e-book and paperback from Amazon worldwide, and can also be found on Kindle Unlimited.




Thames Valley Tales (second edition) Book and Audiobook Launch

Audiobook narrated and produced by Richard James

When considering which of my books would make a suitable subject for my first foray into audio, I decided on my Thames Valley short stories, owing to the many comments I’ve received along the lines that the stories have a strong visual quality. Visual in audio? How does that work? 

Well, I believe the stories, properly told and with appropriate effects, will conjure up visual images of the action in the mind of the audiobook listener. Let’s see what comments come back in reviews! I raided my first edition of 15 Thames Valley Tales, selecting eight that could do with a re-write, and adding a newer story, The Goldfish Bowl, to make a set of nine. Two of the stories are quite long, at 40-ish minutes, with the others nearer 30 minutes on audio, giving a running time of 2 hrs 40 mins. I have included a separate Author’s Note, in which I outline the background to each story and the history or legends invoked.


To do the project justice, I hired the voice and production talents of author/actor, Richard James. I attended the launch of Richard’s Victorian crime thriller, The Head in the Ice, in 2019 (see picture) and have stayed in touch since. He seemed the obvious starting point, and I was delighted when he agreed to take on narrating and producing my audiobook. He has added value by helping to tighten up on dialogue and has introduced genre-appropriate music and sound effects. I found it true that written dialogue has a tendency to be a bit more formal than spoken dialogue – something for authors to consider when adapting books to audio.

I hope you enjoy my audiobook and please share your impressions in reviews.



Universal Buy Link



Tim Walker


Tim Walker is an independent author living near Windsor in the UK. He grew up in Liverpool where he began his working life as a trainee reporter on a local newspaper. After graduating, he moved to London where he worked in the newspaper publishing industry for ten years before relocating to Zambia where, following a period of voluntary work with VSO, he set up his own marketing and publishing business. He returned to the UK in 2009.

His creative writing journey began in earnest in 2014, as a therapeutic activity whilst recovering from cancer treatment. He began writing an historical fiction series, A Light in the Dark Ages, inspired by a visit to the site of a former Roman town. The series connects the end of Roman Britain to elements of the Arthurian legend and is inspired by historical source material, presenting an imagined history of Britain in the fifth and early sixth centuries. 

Book one is Abandoned (second edition 2018); followed by Ambrosius: Last of the Romans (2017) and Uther’s Destiny (2018). The last two books in the series, Arthur Dux Bellorum (2019) and Arthur Rex Brittonum (2020) cover the life of an imaged historical King Arthur, and are both Coffee Pot Book Club recommended reads.

In 2021 he published a dual timeline historical novel, Guardians at the Wall. This was inspired by visits to Vindolanda and Corbridge at Hadrian’s Wall, and concerns the efforts of archaeologists to uncover evidence and build a narrative of the life of a Roman centurion in second century Britannia… and find his missing payroll chest.

Tim has also written three books of short stories, Thames Valley Tales (2015, second edition 2023), Postcards from London (2017) and Perverse (2020); a dystopian thriller, Devil Gate Dawn (2016); and three children’s books, co-authored with his daughter, Cathy – The Adventures of Charly Holmes (2017), Charly & the Superheroes (2018) and Charly in Space (2020).

He plans to re-work some stories in Postcards from London into London Tales, with the addition of new stories, for publication in 2024 in audiobook, Kindle and paperback.

Connect with Tim:



Audiobook Narrator: Richard James

Thames Valley Tales audiobook is narrated and produced by actor, author and playwright Richard James who has been appearing on stage and screen for over thirty years. 

Most recently, he played a guest role in Miss Scarlet & The Duke for PBS and Alibi Films and was nominated for 'Best Supporting Performance' at the Off West End Awards for his roles in A Sherlock Carol at the Marylebone Theatre.



Richard is known to Coffee Pot Book Clubbers as the author of the Victorian crime series, Bowman of the Yard. Picture shows Tim with Richard (l) at the 2019 launch of book one in his series, The Head in the Ice.


Connect with Richard:

Twitter




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