Monday, April 29, 2024

Book of the Week: Longsword's Lady – Countess Ela of Salisbury by J.P. Reedman


* Book of the Week *


Longsword's Lady – Countess Ela of Salisbury

Medieval Babes

by J.P. Reedman




Spirited away to France after the death of her father, the Earl of Salisbury, young Ela is soon found by a wandering minstrel and taken to the court of Richard Lionheart. Aged nine, she is betrothed to the King's illegitimate half-brother, William Longsword, before being sent for education in the household of Eleanor of Aquitaine. Some years later, Ela and William form a harmonious bond, despite their arranged marriage, and have many children, but their lives are always threatened by uncertainty.

King John now rules, and William is his most loyal brother--and his enforcer. When the King tries to seduce Ela while William lies in the dungeons of the fighting Bishop of Bouvines, at last he decides to change his allegiance from the brother he once loved who has now become a tyrant. He returns to the Plantagenet fold only on King John's demise and the accession of his young nephew, King Henry III.

But war and strife is never far away, and on a journey from Gascony, William is shipwrecked and believed dead by most, barring Ela. Men of ambition start clamouring to wed the widowed Countess--and claim the earldom of Salisbury through marrying her...

LONGSWORD'S LADY is historical fiction based on the life of the remarkable medieval woman who placed a founding stone of Salisbury Cathedral, became the Sheriff of Wiltshire, one of only two female Sheriffs, and ended up a powerful Abbess in the beautiful convent she founded at Lacock.


Praise for Longsword’s Lady:

"This author made the Lionheart and his infamous successor real characters, and the need for the magnificent Magna Carta clearly drawn. Faith, courage, a desire for justice as well as initiative and self awareness were not lacking among the 'weaker sex' of this time so defined by hierarchical levels of power and inherited wealth."
~ Patti S, Amazon

"Interesting story of a female during an era when women had little power who, from the time she was ten, learned to deal with those who sought to control her in order to claim her titles and sealed. It also provided a lot of insight into King Richard the Lionheart and his not so revered brother, John. Well-written characters and a great plot based on real history. A great read."
~ Big Red, Amazon



This title is available to read on #KindleUnlimited.


Universal Link






Life and Death in Ephesus by Finlay McQuade #AwardWinning #HistoricalAnthology #RecommendedReading


Life and Death in Ephesus

An Anthology of Short Stories

by Finlay McQuade



 For over a thousand years, Ephesus, on the Aegean coast of what is now Turkey, was a thriving city. It was the site of the Temple of Artemis, one of the Wonders of the World, and a destination for religious pilgrimage long before the advent of Christianity. In the first century CE, St. John and St. Paul introduced Christianity to Ephesus, where it survived its turbulent beginnings and, in the fifth century CE, hosted the God-defining Council of Ephesus. 

      Life and Death in Ephesus is a collection of stories about major events in the history of Ephesus. Characters appearing in these stories include Herostratus, first to commit a “herostratic crime”; Alexander, the warrior king; Julius Caesar and Mark Antony, both lovers of Cleopatra; Heraclitus, the philosopher who said, “You can’t put your foot in the same river twice”; St. Paul, persona non grata in Ephesus; Nestorius, whose characterization of Jesus split the Eastern and Western church, and others, also important, whose names I have had to make up. 

      Hilke ThĂĽr, a leading archeologist, has said of these stories, “Life and Death in Ephesus will be a delightful and enjoyable accompaniment to the many available guidebooks. Not just tourists, but anyone interested in history will benefit from reading them.”


Praise:


"Dr. McQuade draws characters from history and uses his story telling skills to animate them with human virtues and vices."
~ Britt, Amazon Reviewer


"Finlay McQuade has recreated the ancient city of Ephesus with fascinating people, historical and fictional. He clearly knows the history and the geography of Ephesus, and his characters have the complexity of those in a good novel."

~ sagetiger, Amazon Reviewer







Friday, April 26, 2024

Alternate Endings Anthology by Historical Writers Forum #AwardWinning #AlternativeHistory #RecommendedReading


Alternate Endings

An Anthology

by Historical Writers Forum



We all know the past is the past, but what if you could change history?

We asked eight historical authors to set aside the facts and rewrite the history they love. The results couldn’t be more tantalizing.

What if Julius Caesar never conquered Gaul?

What if Arthur Tudor lived and his little brother never became King Henry VIII?

What if Abigail Adams persuaded the Continental Congress in 1776 to give women the right to vote and to own property?

Dive in to our collection of eight short stories as we explore the alternate endings of events set in ancient Rome, Britain, the United States, and France.

An anthology of the Historical Writers Forum.


Praise:


"The authors write with such imagination and absolutely know their subject matter. This was a great find and I highly recommend it!"
~ Christine, Amazon Reviewer


"Eight historical writers were challenged to ask the greatest question of their genre: What If?
The results are varied in content but equally captivating. This book will take you back into the past, before projecting you forward to a time which might have existed if only one thing was changed."

~ Stomper McEwan, Amazon Reviewer







Thursday, April 25, 2024

Blog Tour: Shire's Union Trilogy by Richard Buxton



Join The Coffee Pot Book Club on tour with…


Shire’s Union Series

Whirligig
The Copper Road
Tigers in Blue

by Richard Buxton



*Series Spotlight*

June 3rd - 14th, 2023

Publication Dates: 
WG = 22nd March, 2017 / TCR = 26th July, 2020 / TIB = 8th December, 2023
Publisher: Ocoee Publishing 
Pages: 479 / 421 / 424
Genre: Historical Fiction / American Civil War


Shire's Union Trilogy

Shire leaves his home and his life in Victorian England for the sake of a childhood promise, a promise that pulls him into the bleeding heart of the American Civil War. Lost in the bloody battlefields of the West, he discovers a second home for his loyalty.

Clara believes she has escaped from a predictable future of obligation and privilege, but her new life in the Appalachian Hills of Tennessee is decaying around her. In the mansion of Comrie, long hidden secrets are being slowly exhumed by a war that creeps ever closer.

The Shire’s Union trilogy is at once an outsider’s odyssey through the battle for Tennessee, a touching story of impossible love, and a portrait of America at war with itself. Self-interest and conflict, betrayal and passion, all fuse into a fateful climax.

Written by award winning author Richard Buxton, the Shire’s Union trilogy begins with Whirligig, is continued in The Copper Road, and concludes with Tigers in Blue.
 
Watch the Promo Trailer for Whirligig:





Buy Links


Whirligig



The Copper Road


Tigers in Blue



Shire's Union Series






Richard Buxton


Richard lives with his family in the South Downs, Sussex, England. He completed an MA in Creative Writing at Chichester University in 2014. He has an abiding relationship with America, having studied at Syracuse University, New York State, in the late eighties.

He travels extensively for research, especially in Tennessee, Georgia and Ohio, and is rarely happier than when setting off from a motel to spend the day wandering a battlefield or imagining the past close beside the churning wheel of a paddle steamer.

Richard’s short stories have won the Exeter Story Prize, the Bedford International Writing Competition and the Nivalis Short Story Award.

His first novel, Whirligig (2017), was shortlisted for the Rubery International Book Award. It was followed by The Copper Road (2020) and the Shire’s Union trilogy was completed by Tigers in Blue (2023).

To learn more about Richard’s writing visit www.richardbuxton.net.


Author Links:
Website • Twitter • Facebook • Instagram




Tour Schedule




And They Marched Up by J.L. Feuerstack #AwardWinning #AlternativeHistory #RecommendedReads


And They Marched Up

The Saga of Fallen Leaves, Volume III

by J.L. Feuerstack




And They Marched Up, Volume III of the Saga of Fallen Leaves, shines a new lens on the eternal struggle between Angels and Demons. The story revisits the contest of two Celestial brothers, God and Satan, who, by ancient decree, can only unleash their sibling rivalry when human beings engage in combat.

The citizens of both Heaven and Hell must find their place in the ongoing supernatural conflict. Readers will follow the adventures of the angel Anna Gold, and the demon Anorexia Nervosa Perplexus as each struggles to make her way through an ever-changing and dangerous world. Across their travels both warriors face treacherous foes and conniving members of their own brethren.

This novel of the epic struggle between Celestial forces covers great spans of human history from the building of the pyramids to the construction of cathedrals. Anna and Anorexia witness consequential battles and monumental events as they fight for their respective causes and make difficult decisions, while trying to survive.



Praise:


"Crisp writing, vivid images, and fabulous characterizations combine in a compelling story of adventure, romance, and tragedy."
~ Amazon Reviewer