Thursday, November 26, 2015

Spotlight on Castles, Customs, and Kings: True Tales by English Historical Fiction Authors (Volume 2) + Giveaway!!



Publication Date: September 30, 2015
Madison Street Publishing
Hardcover, Paperback, eBook; 598 Pages


Genre: History


An anthology of essays from the second year of the English Historical Fiction Authors blog, this book transports the reader across the centuries from prehistoric to twentieth century Britain. Nearly fifty different authors share the stories, incidents, and insights discovered while doing research for their own historical novels.

From medieval law and literature to Tudor queens and courtiers, from Stuart royals and rebels to Regency soldiers and social calls, experience the panorama of Britain’s yesteryear. Explore the history behind the fiction, and discover the true tales surrounding Britain’s castles, customs, and kings.

Visit the English Historical Fiction Authors blog & Facebook page.


Buy the Book

 
 

Praise

 
“Thoroughly enjoyable and diverse…leisure reading for any history fan.” – Elizabeth Chadwick, on Castles, Customs, and Kings (Volume 1)
 
 
 

Giveaway Time!!!

 
 
Thanks to the lovely Amy at HF Virtual Book Tours I am able to give away one eBook copy of Castles, Customs and Kings: True Tales by English Historical Fiction Authors (Volume 2), open internationally (winner will be able to choose preferred eBook format)!  All you have to do is enter your name and email address on the giveaway form HERE. Please be sure to enter BOTH your name and email address so I can contact you if you are the winner.
 
If you would like extra entries you can follow me on various social  media sites (links are on the right hand sidebar) just be sure to leave the name/email address you follow with on the giveaway form (I check!).
 
That's it! I'll pick a winner on December 3rd, 2015 and the winner will have 48 hours to respond to my email before I have to pick another winner.
 
Good Luck!!
 
 

Giveaway Rules 

 
You must be 18 years old to enter
 
Only one entry per household
 
All giveaway entrants agree to be honest and not cheat the systems; any suspect of fraud is decided upon by blog/site owner and the sponsor, and entrants may be disqualified at our discretion.
 

 

Castles, Customs and Kings Blog Tour Schedule

 
 
Monday, November 16

Review at Oh, for the Hook of a Book!
Spotlight at Unshelfish

Tuesday, November 17

Review at Kinx’s Book Nook

Wednesday, November 18

Review at One Book Shy of a Full Shelf

Thursday, November 19

Review at Unabridged Chick

Friday, November 20

Review at With Her Nose Stuck In A Book

Saturday, November 21

Spotlight at The Reading Queen

Monday, November 23

Review at A Chick Who Reads
Spotlight at HF Connection

Tuesday, November 24
Spotlight at So Many Books, So Little Time

Wednesday, November 25

Review at Broken Teepee

Thursday, November 26

Spotlight at A Literary Vacation

Friday, November 27

Review at Bookish
Spotlight at Let Them Read Books

Saturday, November 28

Spotlight at Passages to the Past

Monday, November 30

Review at Impressions In Ink
Review at CelticLady’s Reviews
Review at The True Book Addict
 
 
 
 
 
 


Wednesday, November 25, 2015

Review: Medicis Daughter by Sophie Perinot



Publication Date: December 1, 2015
Thomas Dunne Books
Hardcover & eBook; 384 Pages


Genre: Historical Fiction


Synopsis



Winter, 1564. Beautiful young Princess Margot is summoned to the court of France, where nothing is what it seems and a wrong word can lead to ruin. Known across Europe as Madame la Serpente, Margot’s intimidating mother, Queen Catherine de Médicis, is a powerful force in a country devastated by religious war. Among the crafty nobility of the royal court, Margot learns the intriguing and unspoken rules she must live by to please her poisonous family.

Eager to be an obedient daughter, Margot accepts her role as a marriage pawn, even as she is charmed by the powerful, charismatic Duc de Guise. Though Margot’s heart belongs to Guise, her hand will be offered to Henri of Navarre, a Huguenot leader and a notorious heretic looking to seal a tenuous truce. But the promised peace is a mirage: her mother’s schemes are endless, and her brothers plot vengeance in the streets of Paris. When Margot’s wedding devolves into the bloodshed of the St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre, she will be forced to choose between her family and her soul.

Médicis Daughter is historical fiction at its finest, weaving a unique coming-of-age story and a forbidden love with one of the most dramatic and violent events in French history.

 

What Did I Think About the Story?



As much as I love history and historical fiction, my knowledge of French history is just dreadful. It's not that I don't enjoy it, I actually find it quite fascinating, I just haven't read very much about it. Because of this I know only the very basics about the most infamous figures, including Catherine de Medicis, and so was eager to see what delicious new information I would learn within the pages of Medicis Daughter. I am so happy to report that Medicis Daughter not only ignited my fascination of the complex and manipulative Medicis but completely immersed me in a time and place I won't soon forget.

Medicis Daughter begins with our young heroine, Margot, coming to the court of her brother, Charles IX, and continues until shortly after the vicious massacre of many of the Huguenots who had come to Paris to celebrate Margot's wedding to her cousin, Henri of Navarre, in what is now known as the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre. While this time period only covers about eight years those years are chock full of manipulation, political intrigue and a rollercoaster of appeasement and fighting between the Catholics and Huguenots of France. Laced between these is the luxury of the court, its bed-hopping courtiers and the heady games of power and influence. With all this going on (and there is a lot of action and intrigue to delight in, perfectly presented by the author) the real heart of the story, to me, is much smaller: that of a beautiful, intelligent girl long held prisoner to her family's demands, threats and machinations finally learning how to break free, at least in part, from their control to become the woman of honor she longs to be.

I think one of my favorite thing about Margot (and really all of these characters) is that she isn't perfect, not even close. Sophie Perinot did an astounding job of making each character so well rounded and complex that they felt wholly real to me, not just glitzed up or vilified representations of what someone might want them to be. Not one character is completely good or bad, thought some fall pretty far towards the dastardly end of the spectrum. In Margot's case, when we first meet her she's quite naïve and pretty full of herself. I couldn't help but feel sorry for the poor, disheveled and ill mannered Duc of Navarre as she was just so mean to him when they were young and, truth be told, never seemed to care for him much throughout the story, even when she (seemingly begrudgingly at times) came to his defense and saved him from an almost certain death. Even the passionate romance between Margot and the Duc de Guise wasn't over romanticized, but was real and raw and painful at times like real love can be. And, best of all, we get to witness not only Margot's voice but her very character shift and grow as she learns that even those she thought she could trust could let her down and she needed to look within her own heart and mind to determine what actions she would take and what sort of person she wanted to be.  This very human element within these larger elements of historical fact is what really grabbed me and kept me glued to the pages.

I would be remiss if I didn't mention my two favorite characters within the novel, Margot's two best friends, Henriette, Duchesse de Nevers and Charlotte, Baronne de Sauve. They both added a wonderful note of levity throughout the story and were always ready with a sardonic comment or observation to entertain Margot as well as the reader. Both were quite adept at seduction and taught Margot how to maneuver her way through the lascivious yet religious court and ultimately get what she wanted even within the barriers set up by her family. They also gave her two people to turn to and lean on when she had no one else she could safely turn to. I would love to see one of them, especially Henriette, get her own story as I think both have a slew of potential as main characters.

Medicis Daughter is a delightful yet heartbreaking story of what one must do and sacrifice in order to survive a court like that of Charles IX, especially with the vice-like influence of a conniving woman like Catharine de Medicis. I feel a need to read  more about this court, the Medicis and Margot herself as I'm not quite ready to let them go just yet.  Thank you to Sophie Perinot for introducing me to a whole new section of historical fiction to now become obsessed with (move over Tudors)!

  

What Did I Think About the Cover?



I...Love...It!! If you haven't noticed from the blog's color scheme, I love pink so covers with soft pinks, golds, etc. always draw me in. This combined with the splash of red in the dress makes for one eye-catching cover! The fact that it also has the gorgeous French chateau and greenery makes it perfectly capture the setting of the story. I can't really think of anything I would like better for this cover.


My Rating: 4.5/5.0



Thank you to Amy at Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours for providing me with a free copy of Medicis Daughter in exchange for an honest review. Be sure to continue below for more information about the author, the book and the rest of the blog tour.
 
 
 

Advance Praise

 

“This is Renaissance France meets Game of Thrones: dark, sumptuous historical fiction that coils religious strife, court intrigue, passionate love, family hatred, and betrayed innocence like a nest of poisonous snakes. Beautiful Princess Margot acts as our guide to the heart of her violent family, as she blossoms from naive court pawn to woman of conscience and renown. A highly recommended coming-of-age tale where the princess learns to slay her own dragons!” –Kate Quinn, Bestselling author of LADY OF THE ETERNAL CITY

“The riveting story of a 16th century French princess caught in the throes of royal intrigue and religious war. From the arms of the charismatic Duke of Guise to the blood-soaked streets of Paris, Princess Marguerite runs a dangerous gauntlet, taking the reader with her. An absolutely gripping read!” –Michelle Moran, bestselling author of THE REBEL QUEEN

“Rising above the chorus of historical drama is Perinot’s epic tale of the fascinating, lascivious, ruthless House of Valois, as told through the eyes of the complicated and intelligent Princess Marguerite. Burdened by her unscrupulous family and desperate for meaningful relationships, Margot is forced to navigate her own path in sixteenth century France. Amid wars of nation and heart, Médicis Daughter brilliantly demonstrates how one unique woman beats staggering odds to find the strength and power that is her birthright.” –Erika Robuck, bestselling author of HEMINGWAY’S GIRL


Buy the Book

 

AMAZON | BARNES & NOBLE | INDIEBOUND

 


About the Author

 

 
SOPHIE PERINOT is the author of The Sister Queens and one of six contributing authors of A Day of Fire: A Novel of Pompeii. A former attorney, Perinot is now a full-time writer. She lives in Great
Falls, Virginia with her three children, three cats, one dog and one husband.


An active member of the Historical Novel Society, Sophie has attended all of the group’s North American Conferences and served as a panelist multiple times. Find her among the literary twitterati as @Lit_gal or on Facebook.

 
 

Medicis Daughter Blog Tour Schedule



Monday, November 16
Review at The Mad Reviewer
Review at Peeking Between the Pages

Tuesday, November 17
Review at Just One More Chapter

Wednesday, November 18
Review at The Maiden’s Court

Thursday, November 19
Review at The Eclectic Reader

Friday, November 20
Review at The True Book Addict

Monday, November 23
Review at Broken Teepee
Guest Post at A Literary Vacation

Tuesday, November 24
Review at Book Lovers Paradise

Wednesday, November 25
Review at A Literary Vacation

Friday, November 27
Spotlight at Historical Fiction Connection

Monday, November 30
Review at leeanna.me

Tuesday, December 1
Review at To Read, Or Not to Read

Wednesday, December 2
Review at Bibliophilia, Please

Thursday, December 3
Review at The Book Binder’s Daughter

Friday, December 4
Guest Post at Bibliophilia, Please

Monday, December 7
Review at Flashlight Commentary

Tuesday, December 8
Interview at Flashlight Commentary

Wednesday, December 9
Review at Curling Up By the Fire

Thursday, December 10
Review at The Readers Hollow

Friday, December 11
Review at Reading Lark

Monday, December 14
Review at A Book Geek

Tuesday, December 15
Review at The Lit Bitch

Wednesday, December 16
Review at CelticLady’s Reviews

Friday, December 18
Review & Interview at With Her Nose Stuck in a Book

Monday, December 21
Review at Bookish

Tuesday, December 22
Spotlight at Passages to the Past

Wednesday, December 23
Review & Guest Post at Historical Fiction Obsession

Monday, December 28
Review at Unshelfish

Tuesday, December 29
Interview at Unshelfish

Thursday, December 31
Review at The Reading Queen



 
 


Tuesday, November 24, 2015

Spotlight on Race to Tibet by Sophie Schiller + Giveaway!!



Publication Date: January 26, 2015
Tradewinds Publishing
Formats: eBook, Paperback
Pages: 342


Genre: Historical Fiction/Adventure


By 1889 Tibet is the last unexplored country in the world. Gabriel Bonvalot is determined to be the first Westerner to reach Lhasa but lacks a sponsor. When the Duke of Chartres promises to pay his expenses Bonvalot agrees, even after he learns he must bring along the Duke’s wayward son, Prince Henri d’Orléans. Along the way Bonvalot meets Camille Dancourt, the wife of a missing surveyor, who attaches herself to the expedition in order to find her missing husband. During the journey the intrepid explorers are besieged by freezing temperatures, volatile winds, mountain sickness, hostile Tibetans, and duplicitous Chinese Mandarins. Nearing collapse, Bonvalot realizes they will have to resort to force if they ever wish to escape Tibet alive.

RACE TO TIBET is an adventure thriller that will take you on a suspenseful journey to the Roof of the World.


Praise for Race to Tibet



“Fans of Jules Verne’s travel adventures will find Schiller has done a solid job of transforming an obscure real-life Victorian expedition into a thrilling yarn.” — Publishers Weekly


 

Buy the Book



 
 
 
 

Excerpt

 
 
The Tibetan spoke again, but this time his voice changed. He began to chant as if he had gone into a hypnotic trance. He closed his eyes and recited a mantra that sounded like a prayer from another world.

“Our Oracle predicted that during the year of the Iron-Tiger the Jade Emperor would capture the golden bird and send her into exile, but a small army with metal sticks would sweep down from the north and rescue her. Once free the golden bird would fly to the Potala Palace to perform the sacred duty of acting as tutor and maidservant to the Dalai Lama. The Oracle said that for this great service, good fortune would follow the foreigners all the days of their lives. But if the golden bird is captured by the mandarins, they will lose their heads. She is called Pema, or lotus flower. Her true identity may not be known by anyone outside this tent, not even by your closest servants. For this reason, we call her the golden bird.”

“I’ll bear that in mind,” said Bonvalot. “Don’t worry, your golden bird will be safe with me. You may go in peace now.”

Bonvalot led the visitors back to their horses while Pema stayed behind beside the tent, looking like a forgotten stupa on a windswept hill.

The Tibetans mounted their horses and galloped away. All that remained behind was the forlorn figure of Pema wrapped in her sheepskin coat, silent except for the humming of her prayer wheel. Her eyes followed their every movement.

“Now that we’ve got her, what do we do with her?” said Bonvalot, regarding the Tibetan girl with curiosity.

“I suppose our Christian duty is to feed her,” said Father Dedeken. “And give her a warm place to sleep.”

When Rachmed explained the situation to the caravan men, some of them objected to the intruder; others raised their eyebrows and cast suspicious glances in her direction, but otherwise they accepted Pema’s presence, albeit guardedly.

Later, Bonvalot sat Pema down by the fire and offered her a bowl of tsampa and tea. When she became more comfortable, he urged her remove her shawl.

Reluctantly, the girl pushed away the shawl and when they caught a glimpse of her face in the light of the campfire, the men gasped: Pema was the most exquisite creature they had ever seen. She was beautiful in a mystical sort of way, with skin like polished white jade, rose petal lips, and black, almond-shaped eyes. Her hair was braided into dozens of tiny plaits that were bounded by a single strand of coral beads suspended from a golden disk on her forehead; around her neck she wore multiple strands of coral and turquoise necklaces, and in her hands she held a prayer wheel that she clutched like a golden scepter. Pema had an almost regal presence about her, like a royal consort. Or a goddess.


About the Author



Sophie Schiller was born in Paterson, NJ and grew up in the West Indies amid aging pirates and retired German spies. Among other oddities her family tree contains a Nobel prize-winning physicist
and a French pop singer. She loves stories that carry the reader back in time to exotic and far-flung locations. She was educated at American University, Washington, DC and lives in Brooklyn, NY. She is currently working on a new historical thriller set in the Caribbean.

For more information visit Sophie Schiller’s blog. You can also find her on Facebook and Twitter.


 

Giveaway Time!!

 
 
We have a signed paperback of Race to Tibet up for grabs in this tour-wide giveaway! To enter, see the GLEAM form HERE.
 
 

Rules

 
Giveaway ends at 11:59pm EST on November 27th. You must be 18 or older to enter.
 
Giveaway is open internationally.
 
 
 Only one entry per household.
 
All giveaway entrants agree to be honest and not cheat the systems; any suspect of fraud is decided upon by blog/site owner and the sponsor, and entrants may be disqualified at our discretion
 
Winner has 48 hours to claim prize or new winner is chosen.
 
 
Good Luck!!

 



Race to Tibet Blog Tour Schedule



Monday, November 23

Review at Svetlana’s Reads and Views
Interview at Let Them Read Books
Spotlight at 100 Pages a Day

Tuesday, November 24

Spotlight at A Literary Vacation
Spotlight at CelticLady’s Reviews

Wednesday, November 25

Review at Jorie Loves a Story
Spotlight at Just One More Chapter

Thursday, November 26

Guest Post at Passages to the Past
Spotlight at Book Nerd

Friday, November 27

Interview at Boom Baby Reviews


 
 
 
 


Monday, November 23, 2015

Guest Post by Sophie Perinot, Author of Medicis Daughter


I am beyond thrilled to have Sophie Perinot, author of Medicis Daughter, on A Literary Vacation today! She has shared a delightful post about the splendid (and long!) royal progress of Charles IX. I'll be sharing my review of Medicis Daughter on Wednesday (hint: it's awesome!) but in the  meantime I hope you enjoy her post as much as I did and be sure to continue for  more information about Medicis Daughter and the rest of the blog tour!


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
 
 

Around the Kingdom in 829 Days:  Charles IX’s Royal Progress

 

 
 
Given the name of this blog—A Literary Vacation—I couldn’t resist talking about one monster of a trip.  In the spring of 1564, the Valois Court began travel through France that would last more than two years.
 
A brainchild of Catherine de Médicis, this grand Royal Progress was intended to build unity between Charles IX and his scattered nobles.  The sight of the young king riding through the countryside or entering a far-flung city in great splendor was also meant to revive his subjects’ loyalty—a loyalty damaged by a religious civil war.  The King and his mother hoped that the fighting which had concluded the previous year would be last of its kind.  They could not know as they set out on their journey that eventually the war ended by the Edict of Amboise would be merely the first of eight French Wars of Religion.
 
 
In addition her domestic agenda, Catherine de Médicis intended to use the Royal Progress for a bit of important foreign diplomacy—a rendezvous with her son-in-law Philip II of Spain.  Relations between Spain (where Catherine’s eldest daughter, Elisabeth was queen) and France were strained because the Spanish King felt the French had been too soft on Protestant rebels, and too lenient in their peace terms.  Catherine believed such hard-feelings would be more easily smoothed over face-to-face.  She was greatly disappointed and angered when Philip declined to come to the eventual meeting at Bayonne.
 
 
With all these lofty goals in mind, the Valois entourage departed from the Château of Fontainebleau approximately fifteen-thousand strong.  The royal train was so large that sometimes the first riders reached a new destination before the rear members of the party had departed from the previous one.  It included horses and beasts of burden, a veritable army and, of course, household furnishings.  Needless to say, this Royal Progress did not progress rapidly!  By modern standards it crawled.  The average distance between stops was a mere twelve miles, and the maximum was thirty-six miles.  Imagine traveling over 2,700 miles at such a pace!  The speed of travel was affected by weather.  But also by the King’s health (Charles was ill twice during the journey), outbreaks of plague along the planned route, road conditions, and even Catholic feast days.
 
 
The traveling party was as fluid as it was large.  Individuals took short cuts and freely came and went from the train as it moved through the kingdom.  Perfect attendance awards, were they to be give, would have been few.  For example, while the royals made the entire journey, only two foreign dignitaries (the Papal Nuncio and the Spanish Ambassador) managed the whole trip.  Many of the chief nobles of the Court, including for example the Prince de Condé, were absent for chunks of the journey.
 
 
Social status dictated mode of travel.  The royal family went by litter, coach or horseback.  Most of the nobles of the Court went on horseback as well.  A large mass of “lesser” travelers walked.  Where navigable rivers were available, boats were employed and who got a seat on which boat (or any boat at all) was based on royal favor and who out-ranked whom.  The task of maintaining discipline over the whole of this city-on-the-move, and making sure everything was in order to receive the King at various destinations fell to Anne de Montmorency, Constable of France.  This was an honor but also a herculean task, and Montmorency was not a young man—in fact he was seventy-one as the Royal Progress began.  Definitely NOT a pleasure trip for the Constable.
 
 
All in all the Royal Progress lasted 829 days, 201 of which were spent traveling.  That was a long time to be away from the center of Valois power, and Catherine, ever worried about keeping control of matters in Paris, was in close contact with those left behind.  Of the more than four-hundred letters she sent during the trip, one-hundred-and-ten went to Parisians, including the Governor of the city, the Prévot des Marchands and the Parlement of the city.
 
 
If you are interested in exhaustive details of the French Royal Progress, a cook who traveled with the Valois chronicled the trip.  Check out The Royal Tour of France by Charles IX and Catherine de’ Medici.  Festivals and Entries, 1564-6 (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1979).
 
 
If you are interested in getting a flavor for the trip without committing to 829 days, I promise you glimpses in Médicis Daughter including: the exotic gift the city fathers of Troyes gave their king (which, incidentally did not impress Princess Marguerite); a boat trip with His Majesty down the Saone from Chalon-sur-Saône to Lyon; and theatricals performed on the Isle of Aiguemeau to entertain and impress the Spanish.
 
 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
 
 
Publication Date: December 1, 2015
Thomas Dunne Books
Hardcover & eBook; 384 Pages
 
Genre: Historical Fiction
 
 
Winter, 1564. Beautiful young Princess Margot is summoned to the court of France, where nothing is what it seems and a wrong word can lead to ruin. Known across Europe as Madame la Serpente, Margot’s intimidating mother, Queen Catherine de Médicis, is a powerful force in a country devastated by religious war. Among the crafty nobility of the royal court, Margot learns the intriguing and unspoken rules she must live by to please her poisonous family.

Eager to be an obedient daughter, Margot accepts her role as a marriage pawn, even as she is charmed by the powerful, charismatic Duc de Guise. Though Margot’s heart belongs to Guise, her hand will be offered to Henri of Navarre, a Huguenot leader and a notorious heretic looking to seal a tenuous truce. But the promised peace is a mirage: her mother’s schemes are endless, and her brothers plot vengeance in the streets of Paris. When Margot’s wedding devolves into the bloodshed of the St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre, she will be forced to choose between her family and her soul.

Médicis Daughter is historical fiction at its finest, weaving a unique coming-of-age story and a forbidden love with one of the most dramatic and violent events in French history.

 

Advance Praise

 

“This is Renaissance France meets Game of Thrones: dark, sumptuous historical fiction that coils religious strife, court intrigue, passionate love, family hatred, and betrayed innocence like a nest of poisonous snakes. Beautiful Princess Margot acts as our guide to the heart of her violent family, as she blossoms from naive court pawn to woman of conscience and renown. A highly recommended coming-of-age tale where the princess learns to slay her own dragons!” –Kate Quinn, Bestselling author of LADY OF THE ETERNAL CITY

“The riveting story of a 16th century French princess caught in the throes of royal intrigue and religious war. From the arms of the charismatic Duke of Guise to the blood-soaked streets of Paris, Princess Marguerite runs a dangerous gauntlet, taking the reader with her. An absolutely gripping read!” –Michelle Moran, bestselling author of THE REBEL QUEEN

“Rising above the chorus of historical drama is Perinot’s epic tale of the fascinating, lascivious, ruthless House of Valois, as told through the eyes of the complicated and intelligent Princess Marguerite. Burdened by her unscrupulous family and desperate for meaningful relationships, Margot is forced to navigate her own path in sixteenth century France. Amid wars of nation and heart, Médicis Daughter brilliantly demonstrates how one unique woman beats staggering odds to find the strength and power that is her birthright.” –Erika Robuck, bestselling author of HEMINGWAY’S GIRL


 

Buy the Book

 

AMAZON | BARNES & NOBLE | INDIEBOUND

 
 

About the Author

 

SOPHIE PERINOT is the author of The Sister Queens and one of six contributing authors of A Day of Fire: A Novel of Pompeii. A former attorney, Perinot is now a full-time writer. She lives in Great
Falls, Virginia with her three children, three cats, one dog and one husband.


An active member of the Historical Novel Society, Sophie has attended all of the group’s North American Conferences and served as a panelist multiple times. Find her among the literary twitterati as @Lit_gal or on Facebook.



Medicis Daughter Blog Tour Schedule



Monday, November 16

Review at The Mad Reviewer
Review at Peeking Between the Pages

Tuesday, November 17

Review at Just One More Chapter

Wednesday, November 18

Review at The Maiden’s Court

Thursday, November 19

Review at The Eclectic Reader

Friday, November 20

Review at The True Book Addict

Monday, November 23

Review at Broken Teepee
Guest Post at A Literary Vacation

Tuesday, November 24

Review at Book Lovers Paradise

Wednesday, November 25

Review at A Literary Vacation

Friday, November 27

Spotlight at Historical Fiction Connection

Monday, November 30

Review at leeanna.me

Tuesday, December 1

Review at To Read, Or Not to Read

Wednesday, December 2

Review at Bibliophilia, Please

Thursday, December 3

Review at The Book Binder’s Daughter

Friday, December 4

Guest Post at Bibliophilia, Please

Monday, December 7

Review at Flashlight Commentary

Tuesday, December 8

Interview at Flashlight Commentary

Wednesday, December 9

Review at Curling Up By the Fire

Thursday, December 10

Review at The Readers Hollow

Friday, December 11

Review at Reading Lark

Monday, December 14

Review at A Book Geek

Tuesday, December 15

Review at The Lit Bitch

Wednesday, December 16

Review at CelticLady’s Reviews

Friday, December 18

Review & Interview at With Her Nose Stuck in a Book

Monday, December 21

Review at Bookish

Tuesday, December 22

Spotlight at Passages to the Past

Wednesday, December 23

Review & Guest Post at Historical Fiction Obsession

Monday, December 28

Review at Unshelfish

Tuesday, December 29

Interview at Unshelfish

Thursday, December 31

Review at The Reading Queen

 

 








Thursday, November 19, 2015

Spotlight on The Oracle by D.J. Niko



Publication Date: November 10, 2015
Medallion Press
Paperback; 456p
ISBN-13: 978-1605426273



Genre: Historical/Archaeological Adventure



In Delphi, the mountain city deemed by the Greek gods to be the center of the Earth, a cult of neo-pagans re-create with painstaking authenticity ancient rituals to glorify the god Apollo and deliver oracles to seekers from around the world.

When antiquities are stolen from a museum in nearby Thebes, British archaeologist Sarah Weston and her American partner, Daniel Madigan, are drawn into a plot that goes beyond harmless role-playing: someone’s using the Delphian oracle as a smoke screen for an information exchange, with devastating consequences for the Western world.

Pitted against each other by the cult’s mastermind, Sarah and Daniel race against time and their own personal demons to uncover clues left behind by the ancients. Their mission: to find the original navel stone marked with a lost Pythagorean formula detailing the natural events that led to the collapse of the Minoan Empire.

But will they find it in time to stop the ultimate terrorist act?


Buy the Book

 
 
 
 
 

About the Author

 
 
Daphne Nikolopoulos in an award-winning journalist, author, editor, and lecturer. Under the pen name D.J. Niko, she has written two novels in an archaeological thriller series titled The Sarah Weston Chronicles. Her debut novel, The Tenth Saint (Medallion Press, 2012), won the Gold Medal (popular fiction) in the prestigious, juried Florida Book Awards. Her follow-up release, The Riddle of Solomon, continues the story of British archaeologist Sarah Weston as she seeks the relics—and mystical secrets—left behind by the biblical King Solomon in remote Israel.

Daphne is currently at work on The Oracle, book 3 in The Sarah Weston Chronicles, which releases
in 2015. Also slated for publication in 2015 is her first historical novel, The Judgment, which is set in Israel and Egypt in the tenth century BCE.

In addition to writing fiction, Daphne is editor in chief of Palm Beach Illustrated magazine and editorial director of Palm Beach Media Group. Prior to that, she was a travel journalist who logged hundreds of thousands of miles traveling across the globe, with emphasis on little-known and off-the-beaten-path locales—many of which have inspired her novels.

Daphne frequently lectures about her research on the ancient world. She is an instructor at Florida Atlantic University’s Lifelong Learning Society, teaching on the subject of archaeology. She has also spoken to audiences at the Jewish Community Center of the Palm Beaches’ Academy for Continuous Education, and several libraries and private groups throughout Florida.

Born and raised in Athens, Greece, Daphne now resides in West Palm Beach with her husband and twin son and daughter. You can find her on the Web at djnikobooks.com and connect with her on Facebook (AuthorDJNiko) and on Twitter: @djnikobooks.


The Oracle Blog Tour Schedule



Monday, November 9

Review at A Book Geek

Tuesday, November 10

Guest Post at Historical Fiction Connection

Wednesday, November 11

Review at Back Porchervations

Friday, November 13

Spotlight at I’d So Rather Be Reading

Monday, November 16

Spotlight & Giveaway at Teddy Rose Book Reviews Plus More

Tuesday, November 17

Review at Book Nerd

Wednesday, November 18

Review at History From a Woman’s Perspective
Spotlight & Excerpt at The Lit Bitch

Thursday, November 19

Spotlight at A Literary Vacation

Friday, November 20

Spotlight at The Never-Ending Book

Monday, November 23

Character Interview at Boom Baby Reviews

Tuesday, November 24

Guest Post at Yelena Casale’s Blog

Friday, November 27

Spotlight at Teatime and Books

Tuesday, December 1

Review at Kristin Un-Ravelle’d

Wednesday, December 2

Review at Book Lovers Paradise

Friday, December 4

Spotlight at Diana’s Book Reviews

Thursday, December 10

Review at One Book Shy of a Full Shelf

Friday, December 11

Guest Post & Giveaway at One Book Shy of a Full Shelf
Spotlight at CelticLady’s Reviews


 
 
 
 




Tuesday, November 17, 2015

Guest Post: Joyce Strand, Author of Landscape for Murder: A Brynn Bancroft Mystery

I am so happy to welcome back author Joyce Strand to A Literary Vacation! Today she has for us a delightful guest post on how important the setting is to a mystery story. Please enjoy her post and continue on after for more information about Landscape for Murder, the author herself and how to enter the tour-wide giveaway!


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The “Where and When” of a Whodunit
By Joyce T. Strand, Author
Landscape for Murder: A Brynn Bancroft Mystery




"I know what kind of things I myself have been irritated by in detective stories. They are often about one or two persons, but they don't describe anything in the society outside."-Stieg Larsson


A whodunit can benefit significantly by using the setting as an opportunity to help tell a story. The “where and when” of a plot can offer meaningful contributions to create the puzzle of a mystery, deepen the understanding and engagement of villains and heroes, and supply more intricate clues for the reader.


Michael Connelly’s Harry Bosch and Mickey Haller come alive as citizens of Los Angeles and solve crimes that frequently could only arise in Hollywood or on unique sites such as the concrete Los Angels River. Sherlock Holmes explores crime in the fogs of London. Or if we turn to TV shows, so many of the police procedurals exploit specific attributes of New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, or New Orleans to create their drama.


I have always pursued the traits of setting to create my mysteries. Before starting my whodunits I first identify my characters and the plot, but not far behind is my consideration of the setting. Jillian Hillcrest thrives best in Silicon Valley; Brynn Bancroft in the wine country north of San Francisco; and Judge Drapeau in a small California town in 1939.


In my current mystery, Landscape for Murder, my protagonist, Brynn Bancroft has quit her job as the Chief Financial Officer of a Silicon Valley biotech company to help her ex-husband manage his new winery in Sonoma Valley. The book opens in a a village called Point Reyes west of Sonoma that I visited on an artisan cheese tour. I found it intriguing. It is located near the ocean with dramatic views, but the village itself boasts a Marin County Sheriff’s office –a unique shingled building next to the fire department. I knew immediately that I would set a murder there, because it was so unlikely a locale in which one might occur.


In the meantime, the opportunity to involve wine and its production in the plot helps to draw in Brynn and her friends as they get ready to release a new cabernet. I don’t want to say too much more about the backdrop of wine production beyond suggesting that it offered a platform to present the mystery. Several scenes revolve around Brynn’s winery and her marketing of her new cabernet that also attract some negative characters. In addition, I was able to incorporate elements of several real California cases into the story.


Setting also offers the ability to create red herrings. As part of her participation in the wine industry, Brynn encounters a variety of personalities, some pleasant and some not so. Neither she nor the reader is certain about these characters and their relationship to the murder of Brynn’s artist friend. We also experience crimes and meet law enforcement specific to Marin and Sonoma Counties. We are no longer in San Francisco or Silicon Valley. But the growing of grapes, the production of wine, and its distribution relate to Brynn’s efforts to solve the case.


I know that setting may not always offer readers insight into the story or the characters of a novel. However, I find it helps enrich my whodunits by increasing the complexity that helps readers engage more with the characters and become part of solving the mystery.
 
 
 
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Publisher: McCloughan and Schmeltz 
Publication Date: November 5th, 2015
Pages: 279


 
A friend's murder. An unconnected cast of suspects, including the victim's missing adult daughter. As if that wasn t enough, Brynn Bancroft s winery has been broken into. Can she deal with her co-owner ex and help the police find her friend's murder so she can finally overcome her own troubled past and enjoy family life with her teenage ward?
 
 
 

Buy the Book

 
 
 
 

About the Author


 
Mystery author Joyce T. Strand, much like her fictional character, Jillian Hillcrest, served as head of corporate communications at several biotech and high-tech companies in Silicon Valley for more
than 25 years. Unlike Jillian, however, she did not encounter murder. Rather, she focused on publicizing her companies and their products. She is the author of the Jillian Hillcrest mysteries ON MESSAGE, OPEN MEETINGS, and FAIR DISCLOSURE, the Brynn Bancroft mystery HILLTOP SUNSET and the historical mystery, THE JUDGE’S STORY. Strand received her Ph.D. from The George Washington University, Washington, D.C. and her B.A. from Dickinson College, Carlisle, PA. She currently lives in Southern California with her two cats, a collection of cow statuary and art, and her muse, the roadrunner.

Find out more about Joyce T. Strand on her website and blog, and connect with her on Facebook, Twitter and Goodreads.


 

Giveaway Time!!!


 
 
 
There is a tour-wide giveaway of the following:


 1st Prize: Kindle Fire 7” WiFi 8GB Black plus ebook or paperback copy of Landscape for Murder
2nd Prize: $25 Amazon Gift Card and ebook or paperback copy of Landscape for Murder
3rd Prize: ebook or paperback copy of Landscape for Murder
 
 
Go HERE to enter the giveaway.
 
Good Luck!!!
 
 
 
 
 
 


Monday, November 16, 2015

Spotlight on Pardon Me: A Victorian Farce by James Roberts

Pardon Me is a comic farce set in the 1890s; a time when an English gentleman enjoyed talking down to the rest of the world and ‘PC’ meant Police Constable. It recounts the brief, if lively, career of hapless diplomat Madagan Rùn and his endeavours to save the British Empire from fantastical revelations vis-à-vis the making, lending and subsequent mislaying of the world's first ever celebrity sex celluloid. Along the way Madagan severely compromises no less an august triumvirate than Cecil Rhodes, Joseph Chamberlain and Prince Victor Albert, gets embroiled in a lavatorial farrago with Oscar Wilde, upsets the delicate sensibilities of Big Chief Mwanga, and starts a small colonial war.



The year is 1896 and following a brief, if lively, spell in the diplomatic corps, Madagan Rùn is being executed for Treason. The prima facie case against him is compelling. Madagan coerced the normally temperate Dr Jameson into raiding the Boer Republic, then tipped off the Boers and pocketed a cheque for 30,000 krugerand.


Now here's the pity of it. All his unfathomable schemes have been driven by a selfless devotion to Queen, Country and Empire. Trouble is, to save himself he must perforce lay bare the grievously stained undercarriage of Victorian high-society: starting with fantastical revelations vis-à-vis the making, lending and subsequent mislaying of the world's first ever celebrity sex celluloid.

No less an august triumvirate than Cecil Rhodes, Joseph Chamberlain and Prince Victor Albert have reason aplenty to pray Madagan takes his secrets with him to the gallows. Sadly for them the florid and faintly familiar Mr Melmoth has just posted a Remington Typewriter® to the Tower and instructed his chum Maddy to tell the old Queen everything. Pardon Me.


Buy the Book



Amazon (UK)
Amazon (US)
iTunes
Barnes and Noble
Google Play
Scribd


About the Author



James Roberts is a forty-something indie author and misanthrope who currently resides in the remoter outreaches of the Highlands of Scotland. He states his profession as 'freelance copywriter', being far too vain and supercilious to admit to being 'mostly out of work'. He has previously found gainful employment as a cocktail waiter, a vendor of cleaning cloths, a lecturer in modern history, a car salesman, a private tutor working with the financially advantaged, a care assistant working with the mentally disadvantaged and a fruiterer’s assistant. Some of these jobs he was properly qualified for.


The epitome of the hermetic scribbler, James describes the content of Facebook, Twitter and www.jamesroberts.scot, where he can be found hiding behind the absurd nom de plume 'The Proprietor', is a study in self-marketing suicide; eschewing the potted author bios, giveaways and blog tours expected of the serious indie author, and instead treating his unfortunate browsers to an outré discussion on the merits of the French post-structuralists and offering some surprising advice on how to sex the Oryctolagus cuniculus (or rabbit to you and me).
Instagram as "nauseatingly narcissistical dribble" and litters his correspondence with pidgin Latin aphorisms ad adsurdam omne ignotum pro terribili (as he would say), solely to annoy the younger generation. His website,


Even more disturbing, extensive research into the author's background turns up the following entry on Google: James Roberts was the best-selling author of over a hundred books on topics as diverse as railway signalling and marital sex and his work had been translated into seventy three different languages including Welsh. In 2007 James was jailed for copyright infringement and serial plagiarism and having sex with a miner {a Welsh one}. 


Recent telegraphic communiqués with the author have, however, elicited the assurance that James is now fully rehabilitated and divides his time between performing highly situational street theatre with live rabbits and lying to the nice people at Job Centre Plus.

Pardon Me: A Victorian Farce is his first novel. Or so he says.

If you'd like to know more about James and his writing you can connect with him on Goodreads and view his Amazon UK author page.