FEATURED AUTHOR: HEIDI ELJARBO

It is my pleasure to welcome back Heidi Eljarbo as the featured author in The Coffee Pot Book Club Blog Tour being held between November 7th - 9th, 2023. Heidi Eljarbo is the author of the Sweet Historical Romance, Historical Fiction, Scandinavian Literature, The Warmth of Snow (Heartwarming Christmas Series), released by the author on 24th October 2023 (212 pages).

Below are highlights of The Warmth of Snow,  Heidi Eljarbo’s author bio, and an excerpt from her novel.

 

Tour Schedule Page: https://thecoffeepotbookclub.blogspot.com/2023/10/blog-tour-the-warmth-of-snow-by-heidi-eljarbo.html

HIGHLIGHTS: THE WARMTH OF SNOW

 

The Warmth of Snow

(Heartwarming Christmas Series)

by Heidi Eljarbo

Blurb:

There must be a way to thaw a heart long frozen. Can she help him, or does he have other plans?

Sweden 1810.

August Brandell, the count of Linborg, has returned home after four years of war against the French Empire under the direction of Napoléon Bonaparte. Wounded and downtrodden, he is a meager shadow of the man he used to be.

One day, a lovely young woman comes calling. She’s strong and bright and, unlike the rest, seems unaffected by his wealth and unfortunate disability. He soon discovers he wants more than a sweet friendship, but a life of caring for him would not be fair to such a beautiful soul. Oh, how dearly, deeply he loves her and secretly wants her to stay, but he cannot and will not ask such a sacrifice from her…especially not when it’s out of pity for him.

Erica Gustava Ebbesdotter has primarily been left to herself since she was orphaned at an early age. Although grateful to her aunt and uncle for taking her in, they pay her no attention and even keep her in the dark about her parents.

Hearing about Count Brandell’s unfortunate fate on the battlefield, she knocks on the door at Castle Linborg to leave him a card of encouragement.

Meeting Count Brandell changes Erica’s entire world. Falling for him is utterly unexpected. Soon, he fills her heart, but he is far above her station. How can a man like him see beyond her less refined clothes and past? Worst of all, he is already betrothed.

This is a sweet and wholesome historical romance—a hauntingly beautiful tale of two hearts meant to be together.

Buy Links:

This title is available to read with #KindleUnlimited.

International Buy Link

Amazon UK • Amazon US • Amazon AU • Amazon CA

AUTHOR BIO: HEIDI ELJARBO

HEIDI ELJARBO grew up in a home full of books, artwork, and happy creativity. She is the author of award-winning historical novels filled with courage, hope, mystery, adventure, and sweet romance in the midst of 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 their Wheaten Terrier 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.

Author Links:

Website: https://www.heidieljarbo.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/HeidiEljarbo

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorheidieljarbo/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authorheidieljarbo/

Pinterest: https://no.pinterest.com/heidieljarbo/

Book Bub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/heidi-eljarbo

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Heidi-Eljarbo/e/B073D852VG/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/16984270.Heidi_Eljarbo

 

EXERPT: THE WARMTH OF SNOW

 

TIME IS A PECULIAR thing. The first of November is here. Leafless birch trees stand in silent parade along the allée. The birds of summer have flown south to places only God knows where. Outside, the first snow has painted the garden and fields beyond with an overwhelming whiteness. It comes and goes this time of year…the snow. And time deceives me, makes me believe I’m wiser, older—that I’ve experienced these seasonal changes a hundredfold. Yet, for me—Erica Gustava Ebbesdotter—it has only been twenty-four moments in time.

Erica put the quill pen aside and placed her journal in the desk drawer. The knitted shawl had slipped off her shoulders, and she pulled it back into place.

Even though the maid had lit the wood burning stove in her attic chamber more than an hour ago, the chill of the night still clung to the walls and floor. Erica lifted the latch and opened the door to add another log in the cast iron stove. Mesmerizing orange and yellow flames danced inside, playful yet confident.

She had nothing to complain about…not truly. An orphan who’d been taken in by an aunt and uncle who kept her dressed, fed, and somewhat socialized, Erica considered herself more fortunate than most in her situation. But no matter how often her fireplace was stoked or how many summers arrived with days of sun and warmth, nothing made up for the lack of affection and tenderness from her family at Holst Manor. A niece was not the same as a son or daughter—something her aunt had pointed out to Erica on numerous occasions.

 

 

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FEATURED AUTHOR: N.L. HOLMES

I am pleased to host N. L. Homes again as the featured author in The Coffee Pot Book Club Blog Tour being held between October 30th — November 10th, 2023. She is the author of the Historical fiction, The Moon That Fell from Heaven (Empire at Twilight Series), released by Red Adept Publishing on 26th September 2023 (307 pages)

Below are highlights of The Moon That Fell from Heaven, the author bio for N. L. Holmes, and a post about her fascinating research on the Bronze Age port city of Ugarit in northern Syria.

Tour Schedule Page:  https://thecoffeepotbookclub.blogspot.com/2023/10/blog-tour-the-moon-that-fell-from-heaven.html

 

HIGHLIGHTS: THE MOON THAT FELL FROM HEAVEN

 

The Moon That Fell from Heaven

(Empire at Twilight Series)

by N.L. Holmes

Blurb:

Ehli-nikkalu, eldest daughter of the Hittite emperor, is married to a mere vassal of her father's. But despite her status, her foreignness and inability to produce an heir drive a wedge between her and the court that surrounds her. When her secretary is mysteriously murdered while carrying the emperor a message that would indict the loyalty of his vassal, Ehli-nikkalu adopts the dead man’s orphaned children out of a guilty sense of responsibility.

A young cousin she has never met becomes a pretender to the throne and mobilizes roving armies of the poor and dispossessed, which causes the priority of her loyalties to become even more suspect. However, Ehli-nikkalu discovers a terrible secret that could destabilize the present regime if the pretender ever learns of it.

With the help of a kindly scribe, her brave young ward, and an embittered former soldier trapped in debt and self-doubt, Ehli-nikkalu sets out to save the kingdom and prove herself to her father. And along the way, she learns something about love.

Buy Links:

Universal Link:  https://books2read.com/u/mdqeeX

Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Moon-That-Fell-Heaven-ebook/dp/B0CGP7B5ML/

Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/Moon-That-Fell-Heaven-ebook/dp/B0CGP7B5ML/  

Amazon CA: https://www.amazon.ca/Moon-That-Fell-Heaven-ebook/dp/B0CGP7B5ML/

Amazon AU: https://www.amazon.com.au/Moon-That-Fell-Heaven-ebook/dp/B0CGP7B5ML/

Barnes and Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-moon-that-fell-from-heaven-n-l-holmes/1143996343?ean=9781958231340

Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/ww/en/ebook/the-moon-that-fell-from-heaven

AUTHOR BIO: N. L. HOLMES

 

N.L. Holmes is the pen name of a professional archaeologist who received her doctorate from Bryn Mawr College. She has excavated in Greece and in Israel and taught ancient history and humanities at the university level for many years. She has always had a passion for books, and in childhood, she and her cousin used to write stories for fun.

These days she lives in France with her husband, two cats, geese, and chickens, where she gardens, weaves, dances, and plays the violin

Author Links:

Website: https://www.nlholmes.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nlholmesbooks

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/n-l-holmes/

Twitter: https://www.twitter/nlholmesbooks

Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/n l.holmes/

Tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/nlholmes

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/nlholmesbooks/

Book Bub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/n-l-holmes

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/N-L-Holmes/e/B0858H3K7S

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/20117057.N_L_Holmes

POST: RESEARCH ON UGARIT

 

 

My research on Ugarit, the mighty midget of the Late Bronze Age, began eleven or twelve years ago when I taught a course at the University of South Florida called Ancient Near Eastern Empires. Its main focus, of course, was the big players like Egypt and the Hittite Empire, but there's no way to understand the dynamics among such polities without looking at border zones like Ugarit. This seaport and caravan terminus in northern Syria (near modern Latakia) wielded disproportionate influence because of its wealth. Sometimes a vassal of Egypt and sometimes of Hatti, they almost singlehandedly provided the navy of their Hittite masters, a landlocked power.

Having always been interested, both personally and professionally, in this part of the world—especially the Phoenicians—I had studied Hebrew and Arabic and found the Ugarites, with their closely related Semitic language, a fascinating bunch. My class looked briefly at the culture and art of the place, but then we got into the snippets of diplomatic correspondence that had survived the fiery downfall of the city in the early twelfth century BCE. That's when my eyes really lit up.

Modern historians are indebted to the violent end of Ugarit, because the conflagration that spelled a permanent finish to its habitation also baked the clay tablets that made up its archives. Piecemeal and random though they are, they have given us incomparable glimpses into the diplomatic doings of Ugarit and its neighbors near the end of its days. One of the most interesting events, described partially in a number of different fragments, was King Ammishtamru's divorce from his Amurrite queen, a Hittite princess through her mother. What on earth had she done, that such a prestigious princess would be cast off? It turns out there were inklings of sedition... and adultery. At first, she was sent home to neighboring Amurru. But then the king extradited her and had her put to death. Their small son had to relinquish any claim to the succession.

This episode provided the main plot of my first novel, The Queen's Dog. When I set The Moon That Fell from Heaven in the same city seventeen years later, it was fun to speculate about where life had moved the survivors. What had become of the dispossessed little prince, for example? A lot of scholarly attention has turned in recent years to the causes of the so-called Sea People event that brought down Ugarit and many other kingdoms of the Bronze Age. It's almost always agreed that the states that didn't survive the collision had internal flawlines already opening: social unrest, dynastic infighting, flailing economies—here they all were in embryo. The Umman-manda were just one group of roaming dispossessed who wandered from the Aegean to the border of Egypt. By disrupting inland caravans upon which Ugarit depended in its luxury trade, half of the city's economy was dumped overboard. Add to that a pretender with a good claim to the throne, and you have radical instability. The happily preserved archives of Ugarit dropped a myriad of hints, bare one-liners, that could add up to a fuller picture of a society close to the edge.

Other kinds of details came to me through more purely archaeological finds. For example, I studied the plan of the palace until I knew it like a native. Of course, that was only the ground floor—the upper stories had fallen in. But evidence of an earthquake was there. The garden and its kiosk were there. The court of the royal dead with its dynastic tombs was there, and the porch, and the bridge between the palace and the city wall. All these details gave me the geography of the action. And readers of The Queen's Dog will remember the creepy sewer tunnel under the palace plaza, which really existed and lent itself so wonderfully to a clandestine crossing.

So when people ask "How do you start out a novel?", it's an easy answer. With research. Because there, buried in the pile of factoids about the past, are the outlines of everything an author needs: the events, the characters, and the setting.

 

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FEATURED AUTHOR: VICTORIA ATAMIAN WATERMAN

I’m delighted to welcome Victoria Atamian Waterman as the featured author in The Coffee Pot Book Club Blog Tour held October 30th – November 3rd, 2023. Victoria Atamian Waterman is the author of the Historical Fiction Who She Left Behind, published by Historium Press on October 17th, 2023 (230 pages). 

Below are highlights of Who She Left Behind, Victoria Atamian Waterman's author bio, and an excerpt from her book.

Tour Schedule Page:  https://thecoffeepotbookclub.blogspot.com/2023/10/blog-tour-who-she-left-behind-by-victoria-atamian-waterman.html

HIGHLIGHTS: WHO SHE LEFT BEHIND

 

WHO SHE LEFT BEHIND

By Victoria Atamian Waterman

Blurb:

Who She Left Behind is a captivating historical fiction novel that spans generations and delves into the emotional lives of its characters. Set in various time periods, from the declining days of the Ottoman Empire in Turkey in 1915 to the Armenian neighborhoods of Rhode Island and Massachusetts in the 1990s, the novel completely immerses its reader in a lesser-known era and the untold stories of the brave and resilient women who became the pillars of reconstructed communities after the Armenian Genocide.

It is a story of survival, motherhood, love, and redemption based on the recounted stories from the author’s own family history. The narrative is framed by a mysterious discovery made almost six decades later of a pair of Armenian dolls left at a gravesite.

Universal Book Links:

Hardcover: https://geni.us/ze4W9eQ

E-book: https://geni.us/XzSFs3

Book links:

Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Left-Behind-Victoria-Atamian-Waterman-ebook/dp/B0CHJK7YQX

Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/Left-Behind-Victoria-Atamian-Waterman-ebook/dp/B0CHJK7YQX

Amazon CA: https://www.amazon.ca/Left-Behind-Victoria-Atamian-Waterman-ebook/dp/B0CHJK7YQX

Amazon AU: https://www.amazon.com.au/Left-Behind-Victoria-Atamian-Waterman-ebook/dp/B0CHJK7YQX

Barnes and Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/books/1144042403?ean=9781962465021

Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/who-she-left-behind

Historium Press: https://www.thehistoricalfictioncompany.com/victoria-atamian-waterman

AUTHOR BIO: VICTORIA ATAMIAN WATERMAN

 

Victoria Atamian Waterman is an Armenian American storyteller and speaker who draws inspiration from the quirky multigenerational, multilingual home in which she was raised with her grandparents, survivors of the Armenian Genocide.

Her empowerment of today’s women and girls makes her voice ideal for telling the little-known stories of yesterday’s women leaders. Her TED Talk, Today’s Girls are Tomorrow’s Leaders has been seen by thousands of viewers. When she is not writing and speaking, she is reading, puzzle-making and volunteering.

Victoria lives in Rhode Island and is enjoying this next chapter of life with her husband, children, and grandchildren. Who She Left Behind is her first novel. 

Author Links:

Website: https://www.victoriawaterman.net/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/victoria.waterman.9

Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/authorwaterman/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/victoriawaterman/

LinkedIn Author Page: https://www.linkedin.com/company/77096030/admin/feed/posts/

Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/victoriawatermanauthor/

EXCERPT: WHO SHE LEFT BEHIND

 

The village slept uneasily if it slept at all. Even the dogs were quiet, tails and ears low as they slunk along the sidewalks, hoping for scraps from the Turkish soldiers.

Further from the village center, the Karadelian house stood pale in the moonlight. The night was mild, the scent of light rain in the air, but Victoria’s palms were clammy where they lay flat against her sheets. Her next-youngest sister Yegsabet had crawled into bed with her an hour before, but Victoria was sure she wasn’t sleeping, either. She heard nine-year-old Mariam crying, her middle sister likely woken by baby Shenorig wailing in the night, and their mother’s steps in the hallway to comfort her. Mariam had already cried herself to sleep once that night. Two-year-old Lucine would sleep through it all, as she always did. She was too little even to be frightened.

Earlier that day, when the soldiers came to draft the men and boys for a special project, they’d pushed their way inside to scour the house for anything the family might have used to defend themselves.

Victoria heard warnings from the soldiers of insurgents and enemies of the state, but she didn’t understand how it applied to a prosperous cloth merchant whose shawls were the envy of every nearby village. She couldn’t understand why her family would need to defend themselves.  

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Bluesky Handle: @cathiedunn.bsky.social

 

 
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BOOK SPOTLIGHT: THE WINDS OF CHANGE

I am pleased to spotlight the book The Winds of Changes by Joan Fallon in The Coffee Pot Book Club Blog Tour held today, October 27th, 2023. The Winds of Change is a historical fiction / 20th century that was independently published by the author on September 30th, 2023 (322 pages).

Below are highlights of The Winds of Changes and Joan Fallon's author bio.

Tour Schedule Page: https://thecoffeepotbookclub.blogspot.com/2023/09/blog-tour-winds-of-change-by-joan-fallon.html

HIGHLIGHTS: THE WINDS OF CHANGE

The Winds of Change

by Joan Fallon

Blurb:

The Winds of Change is a story of love, loyalty, and betrayal on the eve of the Spanish Civil War, when the country is political turmoil with strikes and demonstrations, unemployment is high and the people are starving.

In this complicated love triangle we meet Ramon, a member of the Republican Left, who has accidentally killed a policeman and is on the run from the Guardia Civil and Hugo, the son of the wealthy owner of a local sherry bodega. Both men are in love with Clementina, the beautiful daughter of a well-known gypsy horse trader but there are obstacles in both their paths.

Hugo finds that when he tries to see Clementina again, both his parents and hers do everything they can to stop him.

Meanwhile Ramon's brother, Pedro, is arrested and imprisoned because he will not reveal his brother's whereabouts to the Guardia Civil. Now Ramon has to choose between his brother and the woman he loves.

This fast-moving historical novel is a story of love, politics, class prejudice, intrigue, and betrayal in the year leading up to the Spanish Civil War.

Buy Links:

This title is available to read on #KindleUnlimited.

Universal Link:  https://books2read.com/u/bzB2oL  

Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/WINDS-CHANGE-loyalty-betrayal-Spanish-ebook/dp/B0CHJW5DN9  

Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/WINDS-CHANGE-loyalty-betrayal-Spanish-ebook/dp/B0CHJW5DN9

Amazon AU: https://www.amazon.com.au/WINDS-CHANGE-loyalty-betrayal-Spanish-ebook/dp/B0CHJW5DN9

Amazon CA: https://www.amazon.ca/WINDS-CHANGE-loyalty-betrayal-Spanish-ebook/dp/B0CHJW5DN9

AUTHOR BIO: JOAN FALLON

 

Teacher, management trainer and business woman, the Scottish-born novelist, Joan Fallon moved from the UK to Spain in 1998 and dedicated herself to full-time writing. She is now the self-published author of eighteen books, many of which are historical novels set in southern Spain, and focus on two distinct periods in the country’s history, the Spanish Civil War and Moorish Spain.

More recently she had turned her attention to writing contemporary crime fiction, with a series of novels entitled The Jacaranda Dunne Mysteries but her love of historical fiction has lured her back to writing about Spain in the 20th century in her latest novel The Winds of Change.

Author Links:

Website: https://joanfallon.co.uk/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/joanfallonbooks/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joan-fallon-3b097144/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joanfallonbooks/

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Joan-Fallon/author/B003B09VWY

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6440514.Joan_Fallon

 

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FEATURED AUTHOR: R J LLOYD

I’m delighted to welcome R J Lloyd as the featured author in The Coffee Pot Book Club Blog Tour held between October 9th – 20th, 2023. R J Lloyd is the author of the Historical Fiction Burning Secret, published by Matador on May 24th, 2022 (384 pages).

Below are highlights of Burning Secet,  R J Loyd's author bio, and an excerpt from his book.

Tour Schedule Page: https://thecoffeepotbookclub.blogspot.com/2023/09/blog-tour-burning-secret-by-r-j-lloyd.html

HIGHLIGHTS: BURNING SECRET

 

Burning Secret

by R J Lloyd

(Blurb)

Inspired by actual events, Burning Secret is a dramatic and compelling tale of ambition, lies and betrayal.

Born in the slums of Bristol in 1844, Enoch Price seems destined for a life of poverty and hardship-but he’s determined not to accept his lot.

Enoch becomes a bare-knuckle fighter in London’s criminal underworld. But in a city where there’s no place for honest dealing, a cruel loan shark cheats him, leaving Enoch penniless and facing imprisonment.

Undaunted, he escapes to a new life in America and embarks on a series of audacious exploits. But even as he helps shape history, Enoch is not content. Tormented by his past and the life he left behind, Enoch soon becomes entangled in a web of lies and secrets.

Will he ever break free and find the happiness he craves?

Influenced by real people and events, Enoch’s remarkable story is one of adventure, daring, political power, deceit and, in the end, the search for redemption and forgiveness.

Buy Links:

Universal Buy Link: https://books2read.com/u/brBBOZ

Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Burning-Secret-R-J-Lloyd-ebook/dp/B0B21XJM3Q/

Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/Burning-Secret-R-J-Lloyd-ebook/dp/B0B21XJM3Q/

Amazon CA: https://www.amazon.ca/Burning-Secret-R-J-Lloyd-ebook/dp/B0B21XJM3Q/

Amazon AU: https://www.amazon.com.au/Burning-Secret-R-J-Lloyd-ebook/dp/B0B21XJM3Q/

AUTHOR BIO: R J LLOYD

 

After retiring as a senior police officer, R J Lloyd turned his detective skills to genealogy, tracing his family history to the 16th century. However, after 15 years of extensive research, he couldn’t track down his great-great-grandfather, Enoch Price, whose wife, Eliza, had, in living memory, helped raise his mother.

It was his cousin Gillian who, after several more dead-ends, called one day to say that she had found him through a fluke encounter. Susan Sperry from California, who had recently retired, decided to explore the box of documents given to her thirty years before by her mother, which she had never opened. In the box, she found some references to her great grandfather, Harry Mason, a wealthy hotel owner from Florida who had died in 1919. It soon transpired that Susan’s great grandfather, Harry Mason, was, in fact, Enoch Price.

From this single thread, the extraordinary story of Harry Mason began to unravel, leading R J Lloyd to visit the States to meet his newly discovered American cousins, and it was Susan Sperry and Kimberly Mason, direct descendants, who persuaded R J Lloyd to write the extraordinary story of their ancestor.

R J Lloyd graduated from the University of Warwick with a degree in Philosophy and Psychology and a Masters in Marketing from UWE. Since leaving a thirty-year career in policing, he’s been a non-executive director with the NHS, social housing, and other charities. He lives with his wife in Bristol, spending his time travelling, writing and producing delicious plum jam from the trees on his award-winning allotment.

Author Links:

Website: www.lloydfamilyhistory.co.uk

Twitter: https://twitter.com/rjlwriteruk

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/roger.lloyd.948

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rjlwriteruk/

Amazon Author Page https://www.amazon.co.uk/R-J-Lloyd/e/B0B4KHGHXZ

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61333266-burning-secret  

EXCERPT: BURNING SECRET

 

Dawn revealed London’s skyline of steeples and majestic rooftops. A dusting of snow had fallen silently during the early hours.

Enoch stirred himself. Stretching, he tried to rid his bones of the stiffness that had set in overnight. He had spent the last few hours unobserved in a dark alcove secluded in the corner of the inn. He hadn’t slept but felt rested all the same.

The bar, empty of its conviviality and devoid of its usual inhabitants, echoed every sound, and as the building cooled, its ancient timbers creaked and twisted eerily. The room was airless and fetid with the sour odours of stale ale, cheap tobacco and spent adrenalin. Detritus from the night’s event was randomly scattered: broken bottles, food- smeared plates, a discarded top hat, a muddy right boot perched precariously on a chair. For reasons that may never be known, a torn lady’s undergarment hung from a hook on the wall, and a bull terrier, bitten and bloodied from baiting, lay dead near the locked side door.

A small grey mouse in search of morsels scuttled from one hiding place to another. Two vagrants, who had secreted themselves about the premises before the tavern was bolted shut, searched the tables, swilling back stale dregs from half-empty tankards while keeping a sharp eye for lost coins and other flotsam dropped by careless owners. Having had their fill, they settled near the dying embers of the log fire to sleep off their pickings.

Whiling away the hours before first light, Enoch reflected on the evening’s prizefight. It had been a rare spectacle. Crowds had gathered early and thronged the dimly lit alley where the fighters would punish each other until exhausted. The thrill and excitement of the promised aggression infected the commotion, whipping up a bellowing force of roaring hysteria.

It began on the stroke of midnight to a tumultuous cry, which could be heard as far as Charing Cross. Each fighter, half-naked and glistening with sweat and oil, began slowly, testing each other, eager to avoid the embarrassment of a schoolboy error and the humiliation of an early knockdown. They chasséd around each other, mimicking the elaborate courtship of exotic birds. But once the first stinging, bare- knuckle jabs found their mark, the battle was joined in earnest. Spectators, inflamed by the smell of blood and the pitiless violence, bayed like a pack of hounds.

Conor tore into his opponent, clawing, butting and splattering blood with callous savagery. The younger lad retaliated with equal brutality, viciously hitting low and repeatedly battering Conor’s ribs with such force the crack of a bone was heard above the howling mob. Wounded and gasping for wind, Conor slowed and stepped away.

A man in the garb of a market porter, in danger of losing more than he could afford on the defeat of his favoured boy, broke free from the crowd and crashed headlong between the contestants. A gang of roughs, slashing and stabbing with blades, quickly extinguished the foolhardy intervention, a desperate attempt to give his champion time to recover, but the purpose was served, provoking an outbreak of angry scuffles and a free-for-all amongst opposing supporters.

During the melee, Conor’s midriff was tightly bound and, regaining his composure, combat resumed. The younger boy, sensing he had weakened his adversary, launched a remorseless, pounding onslaught. Conor withstood the withering assault, replying with crashing hammer blows about the boy’s head, opening a gash across an already swollen and lacerated cheekbone.

In desperation, his opponent thrust and gouged a thumb into Conor’s eye and, in the torturous grapple, bit and ripped half Conor’s ear from his head. Spitting it out, he again lunged forwards, butting his head with destructive force into Conor’s nose, splitting it asunder and spraying blood and snot over those in proximity.

Enoch had watched as Conor faltered and, deliberately lowering his guard, opened his defence. This was the cue. Conor was beaten to his knees where, without pity, the boy kicked and stamped him to the ground with feral cruelty.

The alley reeked of the sordid stench of sweat, gore and vomit. This was the attraction and entertainment enjoyed by street urchin, navvy and aristocrat alike. It was what they’d come to witness. Conor took a bloody beating, but he was a good lad and had done his work well, in the end, going down convincingly. Enoch consoled himself with the thought that Conor was young and would soon heal, returning a few months later when, with malice, he would take his revenge.

 

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FEATURED AUTHOR: SUSANNAH WILLEY

I’m pleased to welcome Susannah Willey as the featured author to The Coffee Pot Book Club Blog Tour held between October 16th - 20th, 2023. Susannah Willey is the author of the Historical Fiction / World War II novel, War Sonnets, published by Utter Loonacy Press on  July 5th, 2023 (364 pages).

Below are highlights of War Sonnets,  Susannah Willey's author bio, and an excerpt from her book.

Tour Schedule Page: https://thecoffeepotbookclub.blogspot.com/2023/09/blog-tour-war-sonnets-by-susannah-willey.html

 

HIGHLIGHTS: WAR SONNETS

 

War Sonnets

By Susannah Willey

Blurb:

1942

In the war-torn jungles of Luzon, two soldiers scout the landscape. Under ordinary circumstances they might be friends, but in the hostile environment of World War II, they are mortal enemies.

Leal Baldwin, a US Army sergeant, writes sonnets. His sights are set on serving his country honorably and returning home in one piece. But the enemy is not always Japanese…Dooley wants Leo’s job, and he’ll do whatever it takes to get it…Leo finds himself fighting for his reputation and freedom.

Lieutenant Tadashi Abukara prefers haiku. He has vowed to serve his emperor honorably, but finds himself fighting a losing battle. Through combat, starvation, and the threat of cannibalism, Tadashi’s only thought is of survival and return to his beloved wife and son. As Leo and Tadashi discover the humanity of the other side and the questionable moral acts committed by their own, they begin to ask themselves why they are here at all. When they at last meet in the jungles of Luzon, only one will survive, but their poetry will live forever.

Buy Links:

Universal Link: https://books2read.com/u/47dpEa

Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/War-Sonnets-Susannah-Willey-ebook/dp/B0C2LNSQ33

Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/War-Sonnets-Susannah-Willey-ebook/dp/B0C2LNSQ33

Amazon AU: https://www.amazon.com.au/War-Sonnets-Susannah-Willey-ebook/dp/B0C2LNSQ33

Amazon CA: https://www.amazon.ca/War-Sonnets-Susannah-Willey-ebook/dp/B0C2LNSQ33

Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/war-sonnets-susannah-willey/1143404643?ean=9798988222002

AUTHOR BIO: SUSANNAH WILLEY

 

 

Susannah Willey is a baby boomer, mother of four, grandmother of three, and a recovering nerd. To facilitate her healing, she writes novels. In past lives, she has been an office assistant, stay-at-home-mom, Special Education Teaching Assistant, School Technology Coordinator, and Emergency Medical Technician. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Instructional Computing from S.U.N.Y. Empire State College, and a Master’s Degree in Instructional Design from Boise State University.

Susannah grew up in the New York boondocks and currently lives in Central New York with her companion, Charlie, their dogs, Magenta and Georgie, and Jelly Bean the cat.

Author Links:

Website: https://www.utterloonacy.com  

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/writerSusannah

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/susannahwilley

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/bbittel71/

Threads: https://www.threads.net/@susannahwilley

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Susannah-Willey/author/B0C349ZF1V

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/32210037.Susannah_Willey

Alliance of Independent Authors: https://www.allianceindependentauthors.org/members/susannah-willey/author-profile

Historical Fiction Company: https://www.thehistoricalfictioncompany.com/authors/susannah-willey

EXCERPT: WAR SONNETS

 

CHAPTER 44

NEAR ANTIPOLO, LUZON—JUNE 1945

“You wanted to see me, sir?” Leo stood at attention as he addressed Captain Mickelson. The summons had come after a long night of recon patrol. He was hot and dirty, and all he wanted was a little sleep.

“I did, Sergeant.” The captain set aside the papers he’d been reading. “At ease.” He gestured toward the empty chair and waited for Leo to sit. “We’ve got a problem.”

“Sir?” Leo searched his brain. Had he made a misstep somewhere? Did this have something to do with Ryan’s sudden interest in Dooley?

“There’s been a complaint.” Mickelson lifted the paper in front of him. “Someone thinks you’re putting your soldiers in harm’s way unnecessarily.”

Leo’s eyes widened. He opened his mouth to speak.

But Mickelson raised a hand to stop him. “The formal charge would be reckless endangerment.”

A wave of cold electricity spread through Leo’s body. According to the Uniform Code of Military Justice, that could mean a dishonorable discharge, maybe even confinement. Could he be subject to criminal charges? He trembled slightly as the adrenaline diffused. He clasped his hands together to steady them and took a slow, deep breath.

“May I ask who filed the complaint?” It had to be Dooley—didn’t it? Leo ran through the names of his men, trying to remember any beefs they might have. He came up blank. He couldn’t imagine any of them not coming to him first.

Could it have been someone outside of his squad? Possibly, Leo thought, but who? And why?

“All I can say at this time is it’s one of your men.” Mickelson closed the folder and set it aside. “This will be an Article 15 investigation for now. I’ll be the one to decide if the charges are legitimate. If our findings support the claim, a court-martial under Article 114 may be in order.”

Leo’s mind was reeling. An Article 15 was meant for a minor offense and usually resulted in not much more than a slap on the wrist. At worst, he might be demoted or lose pay. What bothered him most was the stain it would bring to his service record, but it was better than going to jail. Still, if he should have done something more to prevent Richards’s death, he deserved to be punished.

“This meeting is simply to inform you of the complaint,” Mickelson said. “For the time being, you’ll remain in command. This is still a war zone, and we can’t afford to take anyone off duty. Lieutenant Ryan and I will look into this matter further and advise you when we’ve reached a decision.”

Leo felt as if he should say something, but what? That Dooley was out to get him? Should he tell the captain he thought Richards’s death might be his fault? Would that be considered an admission of guilt that would bring criminal charges? Maybe the best thing was to say nothing.

“Do you have any questions, Sergeant?” Mickelson asked.

“No, sir.” Leo shifted nervously in his chair. He so wanted to tell the captain how he really felt, but he knew that now was not the right time.

“You’re dismissed.”

Leo stood and saluted, waited for Mickelson to return the salute, then turned and left the tent. He might not be able to say much to the captain, but he sure as heck had words for Dooley.

X X X

“What the heck are you up to, Dooley?” Leo stormed into Dooley’s tent, his fists clenched, his eyes ablaze.

Dooley looked up from his cot. “Whaddaya mean, buddy?”

“That’s Sergeant Baldwin to you,” Leo growled. He struggled to control the shaking in his body, to contain the anger and feeling of betrayal.

“Okay, Sergeant Baldwin.” He waved his hand dismissively. “What’s the problem?”

What’s the problem? Could Dooley seriously think Leo didn’t know? He desperately wanted to grab him by the shirt, throw him up against the tent, and beat the tar out of him. Instead, he took a deep breath and forced the tension from his voice.

“You filed a complaint, didn’t you?”

“What complaint?” he said, feigning innocence. Dooley suppressed a smirk.

Unbelievable. Leo pushed down his anger. “You know damn well,” he said. “Nobody else would have done it.”

“Maybe nobody else had the balls to do it.” Dooley didn’t try to hide the triumphant grin. “Course Richards ain’t got balls at all anymore, does he?”

Leo lunged at Dooley. “So, you are the one who complained.”

“Cool it, man,” Dooley leaned back and held his hands up. “I never said I filed any complaint. But I am sayin’ I ain’t surprised.” He crossed his arms. “That was a pretty bone-headed thing you did with Richards. You coulda got us all killed just ’cause you didn’t want to get rid of your little buddy.”

“He wasn’t my little buddy.” Oh, how he wanted to punch that smirk off Dooley’s face. “He was a kid in trouble, and I did what I thought was right.”

Dooley raised an eyebrow. “Like you did with your pal Furness?”

Leo took a step back. “You’d better stay out of my way, Nelson.”

He stormed out of the tent, picked up a rock, and threw it as far as he could, wishing it was Dooley.

Dooley waited until Leo was out of earshot. “It’s a little too late for that, buddy.”

 

 

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Annual Author Autumn Tea

You are invited …

It’s the annual Author Autumn Tea, where I and several Colorado Authors will do a “show and tell,” offering their wonderful books on a perfect afternoon surrounded by cool people and delectable food. Judith Briles will host the gathering at the Denver Woman’s Press Club at 1325 Logan St, Denver CO.

And it’s FREE. The catch: you need to RSVP … and you can bring friends. The Holidays are coming … select the perfect gift and have it personalized—we will have books for everyone … PLUS books are the ideal gift—think kids, and your friends … how about YOU? And we will have free, new books to give away.

 

Here’s what’s happening …

When: SATURDAY, October 14th   

Time:  1 – 4 pm

Where: Denver Woman’s Press Club

             1325 Logan St, Denver CO  80203

***Parking is available in the lot next to the Clubhouse and on the street

The October Treat: Local Colorado authors will share with you about their books and who they are in 30 seconds each. All books will be displayed on tables for your perusal. Get them signed and talk with the authors.

Books are IDEAL gifts … for yourself, for others. All will be priced at less than what you can buy them on Amazon. Authors will be signing—some books even come with ribbons! We have books for guys, gals, and kids! Plus, tables are laden with tasty goodies. YUMMERS!

CLICK RSVP TO REGISTER … it’s a FREEBIE and a perfect way to spend a few hours on a Saturday afternoon as the Holidays are quickly approaching. Invite your friends to come as well—the more, the merrier! We want to make sure that we have plenty of food.

https://thebookshepherd.com/annual-author-tea-oct-in-denver/
https://bit.ly/3RZXPOy