Synopsis

 

1863, Victorian England.

Susan Mottram lives an idyllic existence until her eighteenth birthday when her father’s sudden death plunges the family into penury. To support her mother and younger sister, Susan takes employment as a teacher at a remote Yorkshire boarding school, Matterdale Hall, owned by the radical Dr. Claybourn and his penny-pinching wife. Susan soon discovers that all is not as it seems. Why is little Mary so silent? What really happened to Susan’s predecessor? Is anyone safe in the school’s draughty halls?

Through a life-changing meeting with the beautiful and mysterious Cassandra, Susan begins to uncover the truth about Matterdale Hall and discovers the cruelty and love that can lie within the human heart.

 

 

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This book releases on 11/15. Pre Order your copy now!

 

 

Review

 

It has been a little time since I have read a victorian based novel. Now I’m wondering why I waited so long! This novel was a delight and a spin you don’t see in other novels, including an LGBTQ protagonist, Susan.

Susan’s father recently passed away, and her family is basically penniless. As the oldest daughter, this forces her to find employment of some sort to help support her mother and sister. Because her father educated her well, she finds a position as a teacher in a rather mysterious manor. There are some strange happenings, and her young pupils are berated into acting properly. This goes against everything Susan believes, so you can imagine it is a bit of a battle with the lady of the house, who is also the school owner. By chance, she meets up with a young woman, Cassandra, that lives on the next property, and despite a rocky start, they become fast friends.

I have to admire Susan and the lengths she is willing to go to in order to protect her young charges. She does not believe in corporal punishment, and it is actually some words from Cassandra that alert her to issues that one of her pupils is having. Since Cassandra is deaf, that brought to light the possibility for Mary. Mary wasn’t dim-witted like the Claybourn’s claimed, she just couldn’t hear, and once she started learning sign language, many things changed.

The Claybourn family is a bit dysfunctional. While I disliked Helena, one of the daughters, because she seemed quite lazy, later explanations reversed my thoughts, and I actually felt pity for her and her situation. Marion shows potential to be likable, but it takes some time to warm up to her character. Dr. Claybourn is interesting with his mannerisms and how much he thinks he does for the afflicted in his infirmary. Mrs. Claybourn is a tyrant and appears to hold everyone hostage, whether it is with their pay, how they are treated, or her expectations. I was flabbergasted by her treatment of Susan and the others.

There is a bit of a mystery surrounding Matterdale Hall, a former teacher, and what is really going on in Dr. Claybourn’s clinic. I kept trying to unravel what I knew vs. what I assumed about the manor and its residents. I enjoyed the letters that Susan and Cassandra wrote back and forth to each other. So formal! But that is keeping with this era. I liked that while it wasn’t the norm to have same-sex relationships, I felt like it was handled well and accepted by those that knew and loved Susan and Cassandra.

While the story has its tense moments, there are just as many that are light-hearted and uplifting. I really enjoyed reading this book and hope to read more from this author.

We give this book 5 paws up.

 

 

 

 

 

 

About the Author

 

Marianne Ratcliffe grew up in Lincolnshire. A biochemist by training, she has always found creating new worlds and interesting characters every bit as rewarding as discoveries at a laboratory bench. She has had short stories published in literary magazines and was runner-up in the Guildford Book Festival short story competition in 2010. In 2017, redundancy spurred her to focus on creative writing, the result being The Secret of Matterdale Hall, a sapphic romance/mystery set in the Victorian era. Marianne lives in Cheshire with her wife and two dogs.

 

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Synopsis

 

It’s 1967, the Summer of Love. When twenty-one-year-old guitarist Stephen Cane’s promising band falls apart, he is forced to move back home with his Christian mother. Unwilling to give up on his rock and roll dreams, however, Stephen flees to New York so he can patch things up with his former friend and bandmate, Dylan John, a pioneer of psychedelic rock whose band is on the verge of making it big. When Dylan unexpectedly quits Red Afternoon to be a civil rights activist, Stephen is handed the opportunity of a lifetime.

Lured into the trappings and pitfalls of celebrity and confronted with a dangerous secret, Stephen spirals into self-doubt and misplaced loyalties. Against the backdrop of a nation in turmoil, Stephen questions his dreams, his parents’ loyalties to a bygone era, his inability to choose wisely in love, and the unfortunate legacy of racial discrimination.

We Are All Together addresses a nation struggling with its mythological past and the effects it has had on the integrity of the individual. Does the artist owe the world anything? Does the ailing world need another rock star?

 

 

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This book will be released on 11/29. Preorder your copy today!

 

 

Review

 

When I first started reading this book, I wasn’t sure that I was going to like it. I didn’t feel like I could relate since this all happened before I was born. I only know what I have seen or heard about music in the 60s and the peace, love, and drug lifestyle.

However, once I delved further into the book, I found that it was more than just the music scene, but also a look into civil rights as things were changing at that time. Some were against integration and treated those who didn’t believe the way they did as traitors.

The story does focus on a few main characters, but mostly Stephen Cane. He played with several bands and one Arthur Devane or Dylan John. Dylan was a musical genius, at least with his lyrics, but he seemed to enjoy theatrics a bit more. We know the 60s as the hippie era, and this book embodies that mentality and way of life – from drug use, alcohol, parties, clothing, and music. Stephen gets caught up in this despite trying to avoid getting hooked on drugs. While he has good intentions, he isn’t strong enough to say no or follow the path that he says he wants. He admits his weaknesses, and we know where he wants to go with his life, but how determined is he to get there?

I enjoyed the weaving of musicians, musical groups, and known people (Goldie Hawn is mentioned) into this story. It enabled me to be pulled more into the story and empathize with the characters and their life choices.

A surprisingly good book that we give 4 paws up.

 

 

 

 

About the Author

 

Richard Fulco’s first novel, There Is No End to This Slope (Wampus Multimedia), was published in 2014. His second novel, We Are All Together, will be published by Wampus Multimedia in October 2022. Richard received an MFA in playwriting from Brooklyn College, where he was the recipient of a MacArthur Scholarship. His plays have either been presented or developed at The New York International Fringe Festival, The Playwrights’ Center, The Flea, Here Arts Center, Chicago Dramatists, and The Dramatists Guild. Richard’s one-act play Swedish Fish was published by Heuer Publishing, and his stories, poetry, interviews, and reviews have appeared in The Brooklyn Rail, Failbetter, Across the Margin, Fiction Writers Review, and American Songwriter (among others). Richard is a member of the Pen American Center, where he is also a mentor in the Prison Writing Mentorship Program. For six years, he wrote about music on his blog, Riffraf. He teaches creative writing and English at an independent high school in New Jersey.

 

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SWEET JANE,

 

JUST ONE LOOK,

 

&

 

I’LL BE SEEING YOU

 

by

 

Joanne Kukanza Easley

 

 

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Sweet Jane

 

Joanne Kukanza Easley’s debut novel

2019 Wisdom-Faulkner Award finalist

2020 Adult Fiction winner Texas Author Project

2020 Sarton Award Finalist

2020 Eric Hoffer Award Short List

A drunken mother makes childhood ugly. Jane runs away at sixteen, determined to leave her fraught upbringing in the rearview. Vowing never to return, she hitchhikes to California, right on time for the Summer of Love. Seventeen years later, she looks good on paper: married, grad school, sober, but her carefully constructed life is crumbling. When Mama dies, Jane returns for the funeral, leaving her husband in the dark about her history. Seeing her childhood home and significant people from her youth catapults Jane back to the events that made her the woman she is. She faces down her past and the ghosts that shaped her family. A stunning discovery helps Jane see her problems through a new lens.

 

Family Saga / Women’s Fiction / Historical Fiction

Publisher: Red Boots Press

Pages: 279 pages

Publication Date: September 17, 2022

 

 

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Just One Look

 

May 2022 Pulpwood Queen Book Club Pick

Shelf Unbound 2021 Notable 100 Best Indie Books

Recommended by the US Review of Books

In 1965 Chicago, thirteen-year-old Dani Marek declares she’s in love, and you best believe it. This is no crush, and for six blissful years she fills her hope chest with linens, dinnerware, and dreams of an idyllic future with John. When he is killed in action in Viet Nam, Dani’s world shatters. She launches a one-woman vendetta against the men she seeks out in Rush Street’s singles bars. Her goal: break as many hearts as she can. Dani’s ill-conceived vengeance leads her to a loveless marriage that ends in tragedy. At twenty-four, she’s left a widow with a baby, a small fortune, and a ghost—make that two. Set in the turbulent Sixties and Seventies, Just One Look explores one woman’s tumultuous journey through grief, denial, and letting go.

 

Family Saga / Women’s Fiction / Historical Fiction

Publisher: Red Boots Press

Pages: 293 pages

Publication Date: September 17, 2022

 

 

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I’ll Be Seeing You

 

The new release from Joanne Kukanza Easley, the multi-award-winning author of Sweet Jane and Just One Look

A saga spanning five decades, I’ll Be Seeing You, explores one woman’s life, with and without alcohol to numb the pain.

Young Lauren knows she doesn’t want to be a ranch wife in Palo Pinto County, Texas. After she’s discovered by a modeling scout at the 1940 Fort Worth Stock Show Parade, she moves to Manhattan to begin her glamourous career. A setback ends her dream, and she drifts into alcohol dependence and promiscuity. By twenty-four, she’s been widowed and divorced, and has developed a pattern of fleeing her problems with geographical cures. Lauren’s last escape lands her in Austin, where, after ten chaotic years, she achieves lasting sobriety and starts a successful business, but happiness eludes her.

Fast forward to 1985. With a history of burning bridges and never looking back, Lauren is stunned when Brett, her third husband, resurfaces, wanting to reconcile after thirty-three years. The losses and regrets of the past engulf her, and she seeks the counsel of Jane, a long-time friend from AA. In the end, the choice is Lauren’s. What will she decide?

Family Saga / Women’s Fiction / Addiction & Recovery / Historical Fiction

Publisher: Red Boots Press

Pages: 227 pages

Publication Date: August 28, 2022

 

 

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I’ll Be Seeing You Review

 

This complex and intriguing story follows the life of Ruby/Lauren from 1940 to 1985, from the young age of 16 to 61. We watch her grow, endure, falter, and finally succeed as she realizes that life isn’t always easy and we are in control of our destinies.

Lauren’s life isn’t easy, even though she has opportunities, from modeling at 16 to her aunt’s influence in her life. However, even though things may seem easy, she is still young and naive, and not worldly. She has to grow up quickly, and this might be a downfall for Lauren since she doesn’t have the luxury of time to learn about men and life.

One theme that runs rampant throughout this book is alcoholism. Lauren struggles with it as she gets older, including blackouts and behavior that is harmful to her. Many try to introduce AA to her, but it takes many years for her to be ready to take that step.

I found this story to be engaging, and I think I finished it faster than I expected since I couldn’t put it down. I enjoyed following Lauren’s life through careers, marriage, and family. I think we can all relate to various parts of this book and our own lives. I enjoyed hearing about all of the Texas based companies, such as Neiman Marcus and HEB, and the various settings of the story, including Mineral Wells. I felt that the story did justice to race relations based on the story’s timeframe. There are also mentions of WWII and rations that remind us that things weren’t great during that time.

I think there is a little something in this story that we all could relate to, whether it was her journey, career, relationship with her family, struggle with alcoholism, or marriage.

We give this book 5 paws up.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A retired registered nurse with experience in both the cold, clinical operating room and the emotionally fraught world of psychiatric hospitals, Joanne lives on a small ranch in the Texas Hill Country, where she writes fiction about complicated, twentieth-century women.

Her multi-award-winning debut, Sweet Jane, was named the adult fiction winner at the Texas Author Project and shortlisted for the Sarton Award and Eric Hoffer Award, among others. Just One Look, Joanne’s second novel was a May 2022 Pulpwood Queen Book Club Pick. I’ll Be Seeing You, her third novel, features characters from Sweet Jane. Her prize-winning short stories and poetry have appeared in several anthologies.

 

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***

 

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Each receives an eBook of

 

SWEET JANE or

 

JUST ONE LOOK or

 

I’LL BE SEEING YOU

 

(U.S. only; ends midnight, CDT, 11/17/22.)

 

 

 

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Death on a Deadline (A Homefront News Mystery)
Historical Cozy Mystery
2nd in Series
Setting – Pennsylvania
Crooked Lane Books (November 8, 2022)
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 288 pages

 

Synopsis

 

Editor-in-chief Irene Ingram pencils in her newest mystery in Joyce St. Anthony’s second captivating Homefront News mystery, perfect for fans of Anne Perry and Rhys Bowen.

As World War II rages in Europe and the Pacific, the small town of Progress is doing its part for the soldiers in the field with a war bond drive at the annual county fair. Town gossip Ava Dempsey rumors that Clark Gable will be among the participating stars. Instead of Gable, the headliner is Freddie Harrison, a B-movie star. When Freddie turns up dead in the dunk tank, Irene Ingram, editor-in-chief of The Progress Herald, starts chasing the real headline.

There are plenty of suspects and little evidence. Ava’s sister Angel, who was married to the dead actor, is the most obvious. The couple had argued about his affair with the young starlet Belinda Fox, and Angel was the last person to see Freddie alive.

Irene discovers there’s more than one person who might have wanted Freddie dead. As Irene draws on her well-honed reporter’s instincts to find the killer—nothing is what it seems in Progress, and now her own deadline could be right around the corner.

 

 

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Guest Post

 

I’m always at a loss about what to write when I have to come up with a guest post. Do I write about the book? The characters? The research? Myself? The writing process? Since I’m unable to narrow it down, I’m afraid you’re going to be stuck with all of the above.

Death on a Deadline is the second book (and I hope not the final one—I’m waiting to hear) in the Homefront News Mysteries. It features intrepid reporter and editor in chief, Irene Ingram. The book is set in June and July of 1942. When we visited with Irene last she had just solved the murder of one of her reporters, which was connected with some things going on at the local factory.

As Death on a Deadline begins, Irene is involved in planning the upcoming county fair. Town gossip Ava Dempsey swears that Clark Gable will be one of the stars headlining the war bond drive at the fair. It turns out that instead of Gable, they’re stuck with B-movie actor Freddie Harrison. Freddie happens to be married to Ava’s actress sister Angel. Freddie’s been doing the horizontal tango with Belinda Fox, who is also on the tour. When Freddie ends up dead in the dunk tank at the fair, well—you’ll have to read it to find out what happens.

The research for this one wasn’t quite as intense as what I did for Front Page Murder. I still researched the war and what happened on each particular day to correspond with the days in the book. It was just after the Battle of Midway, so the death of one of the boys in town is part of the plot. Just like the research I did for Front Page Murder, there were a few things that surprised me. In real life, there was a Nazi plot called Operation Pastorius. The goal of the men who landed was to blow up certain landmarks, one of which was the famous Horseshoe Curve in Altoona, PA. I already knew about Operation Pastorius, but what I didn’t know was that after these spies were arrested, the FBI rounded up two hundred and fifty enemy aliens in Altoona! Two. Hundred. Fifty. Now if you’re familiar at all with Altoona, it’s not that big. It simply amazed me. And if you’re anything like me, you’re going to sign off now to check Google. See you later.

For those who have stuck around, you should know that Joyce St. Anthony is my pseudonym. I wrote a previous series under my own name—Joyce Tremel. That series was the Brewing Trouble Mysteries (To Brew or Not to Brew, Tangled Up in Brew, and A Room With a Brew). If you haven’t already, I hope you check them out. They were all nominated for the RT Reviewers Choice Award for Best Amateur Sleuth and books two and three won the award. While I’m waiting to hear if the Homefront News series will continue, I’m writing the first book in the Cider House Mysteries, tentatively titled Deadly To the Core. It features a young widow who inherits her uncle’s fruit orchard and opens a cider house. Of course she has to investigate a murder, too. It should be out in a year or so.

That’s it for now. I hope you’ll pick up the books and let me know what you think. Happy reading!

 

 

About the Author

 

Joyce St. Anthony was a police secretary for ten years and more than once envisioned the demise of certain co-workers but settled on writing as a way to keep herself out of jail. In addition to the Homefront News Mysteries, she is the author of the Brewing Trouble Mysteries and the upcoming Cider House Mysteries, written under her own name, Joyce Tremel. She lives in the beautiful Laurel Highlands of Pennsylvania with her husband.

 

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Giveaway

 

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LIBERTY BELL AND THE LAST AMERICAN

 

by

 

James Stoddard

 

Alternative History / Science Fiction

Pages: 347 pages

Publication Date: April 4, 2021

 

Scroll down for the Giveaway!

 

 

 

 

Americans love their Constitution. In seventeen-year-old Liberty Bell’s era it has become a myth.

Centuries after the Great Blackout obliterates the world’s digitized information, America’s history is forgotten. Only confused legends remain, written in The Americana, a book depicting a golden age where famous Americans from different eras lived and interacted with one another during the same time.

Raised on the stories and ideals from The Americana, Liberty Bell joins secret agent Antonio Ice on a quest for her country. But in the Old Forest, forgotten technologies are reawakening. Historic figures such as Albert Einstein, Harriet Tubman, and Thomas Jefferson are coming to life.

The source of their return, a mystery hidden since before the apocalypse, lies waiting for Liberty. Her knowledge of The Americana holds the key to unraveling the riddles of the past.

Will the American continent return to the freedom of Liberty’s forefathers? Or will it descend into a dark age of tyranny? The choices she makes will determine its fate. For, as The Americana says, “Those who don’t know history are destined to repeat it—and forfeit all coupons, discounts, and travel miles.”

Filled with quotations from exceptional Americans, here is a humorous and poignant celebration of America and its Constitution.

 

 

 

 

 

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Read for Free via Kindle Unlimited

 

 

 

 

How well do you know American history? I can tell you that after reading this book, I discovered I didn’t know very much!

James Stoddard takes history and twists it, interjects humor, and reminds us of our past, both good and bad. He does this through a seventeen-year-old young lady named Liberty Bell. Liberty is off to visit her family and ends up smack dab in a robbery on the train. When I first started reading this book, I was a little confused. We know it is 800 years after The Great Blackout, so around the year 2800 or so, but it seems like an old west setting. Apparently, when something takes out all of the computers and electronics, it takes away knowledge since it was all stored in the cloud and couldn’t be accessed. It was a downhill slide from there because there were no books to rely on, and civilization started passing down stories orally like they did centuries ago. It was like playing a game of telephone, and the stories were mixed with commercial jingles, music, and other sayings of the time. Civilization’s intelligence also started to wane, and they relied on one book, The Americana, as their source of historical knowledge. Liberty is one of the few that can read the book, and she can quote it as situations arise. In a small way, this book also reminded me of the movie Idiocracy.

Once into the story, I had difficulty putting the book down. I giggled often at their sayings, held my breath during some tense moments, and cheered when the good guys won battles and skirmishes. It does take a little effort to translate some of their words into what they should be since many words are spelled phonetically, but only the first time.

Liberty is quite skilled for her age but naive at the same time. She takes everything in the book at face value. However, this experience for her is quite an eye-opener. She still sees the good in everyone and believes in democracy, even when those around her think otherwise. Further into the book, she starts learning some truths and is saddened by what she discovers. I can’t blame her for feeling discouraged, but at the same time, being armed with the truth causes her to rethink her position on many things.

I enjoyed all of the characters and the parts of history that they represented. I appreciated the nod to slavery and civil rights and Native Americans and how the white man and our government impacted them. There are many nuggets of truth within these pages amidst the puns and idioms. It also reflects the patriotism the various characters felt and their regard for the constitution.

This was one of those books that surprised me, and it was more than I expected. We give this book 5 paws up and highly recommend you pick up a copy and enjoy it for yourself.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

James Stoddard’s short fiction has appeared in science fiction publications such as “Amazing Stories” and “The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction.” “The Battle of York” was included in Eos Books’ Years Best SF 10, and “The First Editions” appeared in The Year’s Best Fantasy 9 from Tor Books. His novel, “The High House” won the Compton Crook Award for best fantasy by a new novelist and was nominated for several other awards. He lives with his wife in a winding canyon in West Texas.

 

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THREE WINNERS:

 

2 winners each receive a Signed Paperback copy of

 

LIBERTY BELL AND THE LAST AMERICAN

 

1 winner receives a $25 B&N eGift card

 

(U.S. only; ends at midnight, 11/4/22.)

 

 

 

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway
 

 

 

Visit the Lone Star Literary Life Tour Page

For direct links to each post on this tour, updated daily,

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10/25/22	Hall Ways Blog	Author Audio
10/25/22	The Page Unbound	Notable Quotables
10/26/22	Bibliotica	Review
10/26/22	LSBBT Blog	BONUS Promo
10/27/22	It’s Not All Gravy	Guest Post
10/27/22	Boys’ Mom Reads!	Review
10/28/22	The Book’s Delight	Excerpt
10/28/22	Reading by Moonlight	Review
10/29/22	StoreyBook Reviews	Review
10/30/22	The Plain-Spoken Pen	Review
10/31/22	Shelf Life Blog	Review
11/01/22	Forgotten Winds	Author Interview
11/01/22	Jennie Reads	Review
11/02/22	Rox Burkey Blog	Review
11/03/22	Chapter Break Book Blog	Review
11/03/22	Book Fidelity	Review

 

 

 

 

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Synopsis

 

Macbeth’s Spinners begins in Eleventh Century Scotland with the supernatural transformation of the three Greek fates, but witchcraft only serves as a cover for their true mission. To thwart their ancient nemesis, the Greek god Apollo, they consolidate their power to help the warlord Macbeth, though Apollo is aware and tries to crush Macbeth in favor of the Northern invaders. But the purpose of the Fates and Macbeth are intertwined, and in the depths of secrecy and devotion the dominant Fate, Clotho, takes Macbeth into realms beyond himself to set him on his true path.At its heart, Macbeth’s Spinners is a story about love that withstands place and time, while the details of that love are hidden and inescapable. Redemption seeps through the corners of the story and shows innermost vision to be a trustworthy guide, for love is the ultimate transformation. Haunting and sublime, the story follows the shift of mythic personalities at the most important points of their lives.

 

 

Amazon

 

Part of the profits will be donated to Laughing at My Nightmare charity

 

 

Excerpt

 

Excerpt from Chapter Three

 

Scotland, Eleventh Century

 

 

…Clotho stepped deeper into a dimness that chilled her to her human bone, but she felt drawn ahead by the force of intrigue and inner sight, as though the hand of fate had gripped her with icy fingers that would not let go. The damp smell of inner earth overcame her and made her leery; a lack of breeze and birds unnerved her regardless of her surroundings; the trickle of distant water caused her to hesitate, though she sensed no other life within the labyrinth. She squinted and reached out to touch the earthen wall beside her with sensitive fingertips. Macbeth followed immediately after her, and she led him by memory. Each time she felt the moist earth with her footfall, she heard the friction of his boot on the ground behind her. The echo of remotely dripping water consumed her imagination…as though her heart melted with desire and drew her further toward the mystery that she created. She pressed her palm against the earthen wall, but dirt fell over the back of her hand so she quickly pushed away and took another step forth. Dark shadows dashed before her as though new life forms animated past sorrows. Though there was no breeze at this depth, the coolness that swept past her face taunted her with a sense of the unknown. She slowed her step until she stood still, the earth floor cool and motionless against her feet. Macbeth stood beside her, silent and barely breathing. He no longer smelled of chestnuts or sweat, for the blood stains and matted dirt had dissipated at her will before they entered the lair. She wondered if he noticed, if the peculiarity of it was why he hesitated at times, for she knew she unnerved him; she knew he did not want to be caught off guard and she did just that.

She then caught sight of a deeply shadowed space within the cavern that seemed filled with an invitation to mystery. A mild array of warmth was cast upon her flesh as a glow began to emulate from the room, if it could be called a room, with an intensity that triggered defensiveness in Macbeth. She heard his armor abruptly shift and she glanced toward him; his stance was battle-like, his hands cautiously held out as though he were prepared to fight any warrior that dared attack him. She was somewhat unnerved herself, for she had hoped he would react more calmly when facing an unknown threat. Regardless, she took another step forward until she could discern that they had indeed reached a primitive opening in the cave wall. When she turned fully toward it, the opening glowed brighter as though it thrived off her attention, so that it illuminated even the tunnel in which they stood.

“What is this?” he blurted with caution, for anyone could be lurking in the depths of the room; his eyes were haunting and surreal amidst the glow, as though he were the cryptic one. Why he did not trust that he would be safe with her, she did not know. His battle stance was a constant. His lips were parted and his eyes were narrowed, but he took a step toward the opening with one hand firmly on his dagger. He must have been so engrossed by the glow that when he stood beside her, he seemed unaware that his arm pressed against hers. She said nothing but watched him stare into the glow that was dispersed over the earthen ceiling of the lair, like lightning amidst clouds. Little did he know that they had entered into a golden realm of time. “What secrets are inside that room?” he asked under his breath; she was taken aback, for she had thought for a moment that he forgot she existed.

She stared toward him with the room’s glow so bright in her eyes that he shifted his gaze to his own boots of untanned hide. “A different world,” she answered, cornering a grin; she was eager for him to know what she knew about him, and to recognize the majesty of his inherent fate. “Time does not pass in there like time passes in the world you know. The answers to your questions need that time,” she said, and took a step within the glow. Macbeth did not linger before following her, for she heard his footsteps as though he were almost upon her. She raised her arms to her sides; the ceiling was low enough to cause Macbeth to bend a little at his waist. Clotho watched him but deeply inhaled the damp air, then closed her eyes until she felt centered where she stood; something was happening, she could sense it. She was unfazed when the earth began to tremble beneath her feet and the smell of fresh dirt as it shifted from the cave walls was strong; water tricked down the edges amidst the dirt. She opened her eyes to see him brace himself against the wall, for he still did not trust her strength. Frustration upbraided her concentration as much as the trembling earth. He looked toward her, his hand still pressed against the cave wall as the glow of the room began to fade. “What is happening?” he asked.

“Why do you doubt me, Macbeth, even now?” She sighed but looked deeply into his eyes as though she would find the understanding he did not know he had. “You have entered the domain of Truth,” she said. She watched and willed a single lit candle into a niche in the earthen wall in the glow’s wake. “Here, you cannot deny truth, nor can you speak falsely. Your judgment will be just; you need not be anxious,” she announced as the glow faded.

“Is the same true for you, Witch?” he asked, turning to see bones nestled into the wall amidst the candle flame as though they were the secret she tried to hide. Bones, from bottom to top, like the bones in a rack of lamb.

“It is,” she answered, keenly feeling the air breeze into her nose.

He seemed drawn to her again, and without glancing toward the flame he asked, “What is this place?”

“It was created by the Scots, who dwelt in this land before the men from the North tried to claim it… then I claimed it.” Her eyes had assumed the same glow that the room itself had only moments earlier; she tilted her head down but steadily gazed into his eyes. “The spirits of the ancients dwell here.”

“Where do you come from?” he questioned her with a narrowed glare and reluctance of breath. “What is your history?” Before he had spoken his last she moved briskly toward him, so rapidly that she was certain he had not seen her move.

“I am even more ancient than this lair.” Then, slowly and with more patience, she drifted away from him and said, “I come from a land with a greater history than your own. My land is that of Zeus; my legacy is that of Mankind…I will show you why I am here -” She pivoted toward him, raised her chin, and waved her hand in front of his face as though she could draw the oceans into her lair if she wanted; a slight breeze emulated from her motion. His gaze followed in the direction of her hand…toward a fire that blazed and crackled within a small space in the middle of the room that was enclosed by a short, wrought iron gate. Swirling plumes of light rose up from it but she did not hesitate to approach, for there was no fear in her. She reached over the iron gate, toward the fire. Without a thought for getting burned she reached into the flames, took hold of something dense in her fist, and pulled it out of the enclosed area. Methodically, she straightened her back, her grasp held at her waist.

“What is it?” Macbeth asked, and she could hear his footsteps coming near her.

“Your heart,” she answered, “you burn with a passion that you are not aware of. You burn with life.” She turned toward him, still holding his heart in the palm of her hand. The flames whirled and crackled behind her as glowing bones stuck out from the earthen walls beside her. “This is the fire of divination,” she uttered, “and we are in a burial lair for the ancients. Their spirits rise throughout your body like fish swim upriver. They will seek out and reveal the truth they find within you, then they will bring your truth to me. You see Macbeth, you are my vision, just as you are enchanted by the vision I show you now. The truth you will tell me will set you free from your guilt, for your guilt stands in the way of my plan to make the Scots victorious. It is your guilt that makes your heart retreat and then locks it within iron gates. Tell me, I want to know your truth…why are you so afraid to become king? From wince does your guilt arise?”

“I am not afraid and I am guilty of nothing,” he assured her as he shook his head. “But I admit that I doubt what you say. You may have power, I see that in your eyes, they blaze like the gated fire blazes – but if I am king, I do not understand what I would help you gain. I do not see how a Scots victory would assure your rightful place in wherever your quest may be.”

“You do not believe me – your doubt has reared its ugly head.” Her sisters hissed beside his neck in a flash of time, screeching and taunting, then Clotho withdrew and stood by the iron fence once again. “You are afraid to be king; my sisters can smell your fear. You cannot hide what we smell. I want to know why you are so afraid.”

“I am afraid of nothing,” he answered again, though less confidence strengthened his voice. He could not hide his reluctance. “I am at the mercy of God.”

“Do not blame the gods for anything, for attaining your fate is still your responsibility. You are afraid to be king; I can hear it in your voice. You will tell me why – and remember, I hold your heart in my hands.” She glanced down to her hand, her fingers securely curled around his dark heart, then she peered back to him. Her sisters made no move within her.

“I have no desire to be king.”

“You do, I can see it behind your eyes. You crave power, you have always craved power. That is why I chose you above all others. I can smell your craving for power on the wind,” she said, inching closer to him. “What have you done to gain the power you crave, what are you guilty of?”

“I married my cousin’s widow.”

“You married advantageously. Why should that make you afraid to be king?”

Macbeth hesitated again, but since he was in the chamber of truth, there was nowhere else to go and nothing else to talk about. “Because,” he answered honestly, “I killed him in battle and made his wife, Gruoch, my wife.” He took a deep breath, though there was no freedom in it since he was held captive by her gaze.

“Did you really kill him in battle?” she asked. She could feel her sisters push against her flesh from within, she did not need to see the rippling bulges in her arms and neck to know that they were fighting to be heard. They wanted to question him too. “Did you want to live his life?” Atropos seethed; Clotho could have done nothing more to hold her back.

“I burned him alive, along with fifty of his warriors,” Macbeth averted his gaze as he answered. He cleared his voice, breathing deeply of the musty air with a slight cough. A chill obscured the earthen walls.

“Is that the reason you are afraid to be king?” Lachesis hissed into his ear, then lurched back within Clotho as though she were a snake retreating into a hole.

“I am pleased with being a warlord. I do not need to be thane or king.”

“You can already be king with the murder you have done. Stretch you mind – you know you can. You know the power is yours. You are afraid the Scots will rise up against you.”

“They will be too afraid of me to be set against me.”

“Spoken like a man who will be king. And so it may be true, but it may also not be true,” she said sternly as she stood solidly upon earth. He would not shake her spirit, nor would her sisters intervene. Fairness would be their law…

 

 

About the Author

 

Justine Johnston Hemmestad is an editor, the author of three novels, and is included in several anthologies, including Chicken Soup for the Soul: Recovering from Traumatic Brain Injuries (after having been in a car accident that left her severely brain injured at 19). She is a graduate of The University of Iowa and has also graduated from the English Literature Master’s Degree program with distinction at Northern Arizona University.

 

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Synopsis

 

In this dark fairy tale adaptation of a medieval French legend, Issylte must flee the wicked queen, finding shelter with a fairy witch who teaches her the verdant magic of the forest. Fate leads her to the otherworldly realm of the Lady of the Lake and the Elves of Avalon, where she must choose between her life as a healer or fight to save her ravaged kingdom.

Tristan of Lyonesse is a Knight of the Round Table who must overcome the horrors of his past and defend his king or lose everything. When he becomes a warrior of the Tribe of Dana, a gift of Druidic magic might hold the key he seeks.

Haunted and hunted. Entwined by fate. Can their passion and power prevail?

 

 

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Excerpt

 

“Every tree, plant, flower and herb has an essence. A spirit. A life force.” She gestured to the verdant forest all around.

Issylte raised her eyes to the lush canopy of trees overhead, the blue sky peeking through the fluffy clouds. She inhaled deeply, the green notes of pine mingling with the rich scent of earth and the tangy fragrance of blossoms in the early summer breeze.

“The essence of the forest can be beneficial. Benevolent. Essential for healing.” She picked up a sprig of red clover and handed it to Issylte with a knowing smile. “Yet others are harmful and deadly.” Maiwenn gestured to the alluring deep purple flowers before them.

Issylte’s breath caught in wonder. She sensed an aura. A tingle in her veins.

Maiwenn’s chestnut eyes bore deeply into hers. “Have you ever felt the thrum of the forest in your veins?”

Issylte nodded, her eyes wide with discovery and delight. She held Maiwenn’s gaze, nearly breathless with anticipation.

“That, Églantine, is power.” Maiwenn’s eyes were deep brown, like the nourishing earth of the Hazelwood Forest.

“You, my dear princess, are a forest fairy. Like me.”

With a quick intake of breath, Issylte placed her hands over her mouth in wonder.

“The Goddess has blessed us both with a divine gift. The ability to sense the essence of a plant. To wield its power. The warm, soothing aura of a beneficial herb. The icy sting of a poison.”

 

 

About the Author

 

Enthralled with legends of medieval knights and ladies, dark fairy tales and fantasies about Druids, wizards and magic, Jennifer Ivy Walker always dreamed of becoming a writer. She fell in love with French in junior high school, continuing her study of the language throughout college, eventually becoming a high school teacher and college professor of French.

As a high school teacher, she took her students every year to the annual French competition, where they performed a play she had written, “Yseult la Belle et Tristan la Bête”–an imaginative blend of the medieval French legend of “Tristan et Yseult” and the fairy tale “Beauty and the Beast”, enhanced with fantasy elements of a Celtic fairy and a wicked witch.

Her debut novel, “The Wild Rose and the Sea Raven”–the first of a trilogy– is a blend of her love for medieval legends, the romantic French language, and paranormal fantasy. It is a retelling of the medieval French romance of “Tristan et Yseult”, interwoven with Arthurian myth, dark fairy tales from the enchanted Forest of Brocéliande, and otherworldly elements such as Avalonian Elves, Druids, forest fairies and magic.

Explore her realm of Medieval French Fantasy. She hopes her novels will enchant you.

 

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Synopsis

 

It’s 1939. Jane Benjamon’s got five days at sea to solve the murder of a Wimbledon champion’s coach and submit a gossip column that tells the truth. If not the facts.

On the brink of World War II, Jane wants to have it all. By day she hustles as a scruffy, tomboy cub reporter. By night she secretly struggles to raise her toddler sister, Elsie, and protect her from their mother.

But Jane’s got a plan: she’ll become the San Francisco Prospect’s first gossip columnist and make enough money to care for Elsie.

Jane finagles her way to the women’s championship at Wimbledon, starring her hometown’s tennis phenom and cover girl Tommie O’Rourke. Jane plans to write her first column there. But then she witnesses Edith “Coach” Carlson, Tommie’s closest companion, drop dead in the stands of apparent heart attack, and her plan is blown.

​Sailing home on the RMS Queen Mary, Jane veers between competing instincts: Should she write a social bombshell column, personally damaging her new friend Tommie’s persona and career? Or should she work to uncover the truth of Coach’s death and its connection to a larger conspiracy involving US participation in the coming war?

Putting away her menswear and donning first-class ballgowns, Jane discovers what upper-class status hides, protects, and destroys. Ultimately—like nations around the globe in 1939—she must choose what she’ll give up in order to do what’s right.

 

 

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Guest Post

 

She makes a very good boy and a very difficult girl

 

Recently a reader said in a book club discussion, “Jane Benjamin makes a good sleuth because she has so many male traits.” (Jane is in the habit of wearing men’s-style clothes in the 1940s.)  That got me thinking. What are Jane’s so-called “male traits” and how are they related to her sleuthing?

 

Jane can be:

Ambitious—She so ferociously wants to achieve her goal that she won’t easily let go of the task. This is good for you if her goal is to help you. Not so good if helping you gets in the way of her goal.

Selfish—She doesn’t get easily derailed from her own needs by the things other people want or need her to do. Sometimes a victim will especially benefit when the victim’s needs align with Jane’s, or when Jane’s experience leads her to feel empathy for a victim with whom she has something in common.

Impetuous—She doesn’t lallygag around, worrying about the ramifications of her actions. If she thinks she’d better jump a gorge, then she jumps, and saves worrying what might have happened for later. This can be helpful in an emergency. But also mighty dangerous.

Mendacious—She is gifted at lying. This means she can wriggle her way out of a bad spot. It also means, when combined with her selfishness, she can avoid reflecting on her own behavior. (At least until the end of the book.)

Heroic—Jane does not see herself as a bystander. She believes in her own ability to be the one who makes the difference, even when that belief isn’t entirely justified. But on most occasions, she won’t sit by and let something bad happen. She’ll do what others are afraid of doing because she knows it’s right and needs doing.

I like the list this reader provoked. But I doubt one thing. Why are these male traits? I’m thinking plenty of girls and women behave this way. Yet we’re surprised and a little judgmental when they do.

That’s why I’m glad Jane is a tomboy, a little freer to be herself.

 

 

Trailer

 

 

About the Author

 

Shelley grew up in California’s Central Valley, the daughter of Dust Bowl immigrants who made good on their ambition to get out of the field. She recently retired from teaching writing at Sacramento State University and still consults with writers in the energy industry. She co-directs Stories on Stage Sacramento, where actors perform the stories of established and emerging authors, and serves on the advisory board of 916 Ink, an arts-based creative writing nonprofit for children, as well as on the board of the Gould Center for Humanistic Studies at Claremont McKenna College. Copy Boy is her first Jane Benjamin Novel. Tomboy is her second. The third, Working Girl, will come out in November 2023. Her writing has been a finalist in the Sarton Book Awards, IBPA Benjamin Franklin Awards, Killer Nashville’s Silver Falchion Award, the American Fiction Awards, and the National Indie Excellence Awards. She and her husband live in Sacramento with many photos of their out-of-town sons and their wonderful partners.

 

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Meet the Narrator

 

April Doty is a classically trained actress with a BFA from Syracuse University. She is a voice actor and the narrator of 26 books. Born in Virginia, educated in New York, seasoned in London and settled in Spain, April Doty brings the sound of a rich and varied life experience to her narration. The character of Jane came to life in her home studio on the Costa del Sol.

 

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Giveaway

 

Win signed copies of COPY BOY and TOMBOY, audible download codes for each, a $20 Starbucks card, a woman’s fedora, moleskin notebook, and Sarasa pen. (one winner)

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ends Oct 28

 

TOM BOY (a Jane Benjamin novel) Book Tour Giveaway

 

 

THE LOST MELODY

 

by

 

Joanna Davidson Politano

 

 

 

Historical Romance

Publisher: Revell

Pages: 384 pages

Publication Date: October 4, 2022

 

 

Scroll down for the Giveaway!

 

 

 

 

When concert pianist Vivienne Mourdant’s father dies, he leaves to her the care of a patient at Hurstwell Asylum. Vivienne had no idea the woman existed, and yet her portrait is shockingly familiar. When the asylum claims she was never a patient there, Vivienne is compelled to discover what happened to the figure she remembers from childhood dreams.

The longer she lingers in the deep shadows and forgotten towers at Hurstwell, the fuzzier the line between sanity and madness becomes. She hears music no one else does, receives strange missives with rose petals between the pages, and untangles far more than is safe for her to know.

But can she uncover the truth about the mysterious woman she seeks? And is there anyone at Hurstwell she can trust with her suspicions?

Joanna Davidson Politano casts a delightful spell with this lyrical look into the nature of women’s independence and artistic expression during the Victorian era–and now.

 

 

 

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Praise

 

“Haunting. Riveting. Filled with hope. The Lost Melody is all these things and more. Author Joanna Davidson Politano delves into the dark world of Victorian mental health, and it’s the reader who comes out the winner after being enchanted by this tale of identity lost. After you read the last page, the characters will live on in your mind. Truly a fantastic read!” — Michelle Griep, author of Lost in Darkness

“Joanna Davidson Politano’s stories go on my bookshelf as a favorite! The stories she pens entice my Gothic-loving senses, thrill my literary soul, and inspire the dark romantic inside my spirit. I cannot emphasize enough how strongly I adore each story from this vivid and insightful author, and how badly I wish for all readers to experience her tales!” — Jaime Jo Wright, author of The Souls of Lost Lake, and Christy Award-winning The House on Foster Hill

 

 

 

 

 

 

This book is one that touched my soul. Despite the dreariness of the setting, it is inspirational and uplifting.

I love well told historical novels, and this one is no exception. While based on some facts, such as who was put into asylums and why, it is purely fictional. I have read several books that are set in asylums, and it is heartbreaking to think of how they were treated, or not treated, 100+ years ago. People were often put into asylums for things that the doctors didn’t understand, such as depression, epilepsy, and so much more. But that is how things were in the 1800s; medicine was still evolving.

In this story, we meet Vivienne, a concert pianist, who has just lost her father and discovered that there wasn’t much left of his estate except for someone named Rose, that was in the Hurstwell Asylum, and he was paying for her care. But attempts to discover who this person is and why her father was paying for her care were met with opposition from the staff. They claimed they had no idea who she was talking about. This leads Vivienne to go undercover to uncover the truth. What she finds is deplorable, and things continue to go south for her when she is locked up as a patient in this asylum.

There are so many inspirational characters that, despite their situation, continue to be a beacon of light for Vivienne and those around them. They lift each other up in times of despair and sorrow and want what is best for everyone. Other characters are closed-minded, and I think they have become frustrated with the job, which is understanding. The conditions are deplorable, and because of the century, modern medicine is not ready for all of these issues.

What fascinated me was the beginnings of music therapy in this story. Music touches everyone’s soul in one form or fashion, and it was heartwarming to see how it opened up some of the patients they thought to be a lost cause. Music is in everything. We just have to be open to hearing it.

There is even a little bit of romance in this novel. Because of the era, it is very mild, but we see a relationship developing between Vivienne and Dr. Turner. Will it continue, or is it two people caught in a situation that holds them hostage for different reasons?

This book held me captive, and I did not want to put it down or the book to end. There is so much growth due to the situations that the characters were embroiled in that it might make one take a look at their own life.

We give this book 5 paws up.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Joanna Davidson Politano is the award-winning author of Lady Jayne Disappears, A Rumored Fortune, Finding Lady Enderly, The Love Note, and A Midnight Dance. She loves tales that capture the colorful, exquisite details in ordinary lives and is eager to hear anyone’s story. She lives with her husband and their children in a house in the woods near Lake Michigan.

 

 

Website | Bookbub | Facebook

 

Twitter | Amazon | Goodreads

 

 

 

 

 

GIVEAWAY! GIVEAWAY GIVEAWAY!

 

ONE WINNER!

 

Receives a Sterling Silver Treble Clef pendant necklace

 

+ Copy of The Lost Melody

 

(US only; ends midnight, CDT, October 13, 2022.)

 

 

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway
 

 

Visit the Lone Star Literary Life Tour Page

For direct links to each post on this tour, updated daily,

Or visit the participating blogs directly:

 

 

10/4/22	Chapter Break Book Blog	Playlist
10/5/22	Shelf Life Blog	Author Interview
10/6/22	Carpe Diem Chronicles	Review
10/7/22	The Plain-Spoken Pen	Review
10/8/22	Rainy Days with Amanda	Excerpt
10/9/22	LSBBT Blog	Excerpt
10/10/22	Jennifer Silverwood	Review
10/11/22	The Page Unbound	Deleted Scene
10/12/22	StoreyBook Reviews	Review
10/13/22	Boys’ Mom Reads!	Review

 

 

 

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Deadly Rescue: A World War II Mystery (Deadly Series)
Historical Cozy Mystery
9th in Series
JDP Press (September 20, 2022)
Number of Pages ~300

 

Synopsis

 

As the Phony War morphs into the Blitzkrieg, two British intelligence officers risk getting trapped behind enemy lines in the ninth Deadly mystery from USA Today Bestselling author Kate Parker

April, 1940. Hitler is invading Denmark on Tuesday. Olivia Redmond has only a weekend to bring a Nobel Prize winning chemist and his war-altering research to Britain. The scientist and his wife want to leave, but their troublesome daughter will do anything to stop her parents from departing.

When the daughter’s German fiancé is murdered, the police refuse to let anyone depart until they find the killer. If Olivia wants to escape Denmark with the chemist and his breakthroughs, she will have to unmask the killer before the Nazis stop her forever.

Deadly Rescue, book nine of the Deadly Series, is for fans of World War II era spy thrillers and classical cozy mysteries, of intrepid lady sleuths with determination and smarts. No explicit cursing, violence, or sex.

 

 

 

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Guest Post

 

Hello, I’m Sir Malcolm Fremantle, Britain’s spymaster. It’s 1940 now, and the Phony War that gave Britain some breathing space to prepare for war is over. Germany has announced that they are about to invade Denmark and Norway, and we can be certain other countries will soon follow.

The responsibilities I face are legion.

I only have a small group of full-time, trained agents. Many of them, such as Mike Christiansen who you meet in Deadly Rescue, have relatives in a country on the continent of Europe and speak another language and have knowledge that only a local would have.

Most of the work is done by part-time agents who have real employment or a situation which makes them useful for specific tasks. Livvy Redmond is a features reporter on a London daily newspaper. That makes her partially trained to be nosy which is better than most of them. She also is fluent in German and French which can be quite useful. But in Deadly Rescue, she has another attribute that makes her the best candidate for this assignment.

In my position, I must be sensitive to the mental, emotional, and physical needs of the people I am trying to manipulate. That includes my agents and the people they need to relocate or gain information from. Livvy Redmond’s mother, who died twenty-some years ago, was a good friend of the wife of a Nobel Prize-winning chemist I want to recruit for Britain. What could be better than to send Livvy over to help convince both the chemist and his wife to come here? Especially since Livvy doesn’t remember her mother and wants to learn more about her.

My part-time agents have little training. The best they can do is rely on their common sense and their curiosity and a work ethic that does not let them quit. Livvy is better at this than most, which is good since she insists on getting herself into sticky situations.

Take this Denmark situation. We need the chemist and his research into synthetic rubber brought here rather than left for the Germans to use. He’s willing to come here, his wife is willing to travel with him, but their daughter…why must people I want to help have children? Or family of any kind? The chemist’s daughter is engaged to a German and wants to stay, and her mother has some sort of misguided loyalty which is complicating the situation.

Then there’s a murder, and the Danish police decide to become troublesome. Now, my policy is to always work with the local police, unless they become an impediment to my work or my agent’s work. Then I believe a good lie in the cause of a British victory will save lives in the end.

I can’t take my eye off the goal, the reason for all this, for a moment. We are at war, in a fight for our very survival as a nation. We’re at war with Nazi Germany, and a bigger threat cannot be imagined. Every successful mission by Livvy Redmond and the rest of my agents is a step toward our ultimate victory.

 

 

Deadly Rescue, the ninth book in the Deadly Series by USA Today bestselling author Kate Parker, is on sale in ebook and paperback at all the usual online retailers.

 

 

About the Author

 

Since she was unable to build a time machine in her backyard, Kate Parker immerses herself in research and then creates the world that lives inside each book that she writes. Her favorite place is London and her time travel destination is anywhere from the late Victorian era through World War II. Since she lives in the Carolinas with her daughter and a 95-pound puppy, the practical side of her is thankful for air conditioning and all the modern comforts of life. Comforts she will take with her if she ever figures out how to build her time machine.

 

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