Friday, 21 March 2025

Oscar's Tale by Chris Bishop


Oscar's Tale 
By Chris Bishop


Publication Date: 19th December 2023
Publisher: Historium Press 
Page Length: 183 Pages
Genre: Historical Fiction

'For is it not the wish of every man that his son will achieve more in life than he did?'

The story of a Saxon boy who sets out to find and rescue his father who has been taken by Viking slavers.


Set in 877 as the people of Wessex are forced to fight not just for their very lives, but for their freedom, their religion and for their right to live as Saxons, Oscar relates all that which befalls him on his all but impossible quest. This is set against the backdrop of King Alfred’s desperate attempt to regain his kingdom which culminates in a victory at the Battle of Edington which is very much against the odds. 


But this is not just a story about bloody battles and fearsome warriors, it’s about a boy struggling to live up to his father’s reputation as a warrior and trying to find his place in a turbulent and uncertain world. For that, Oscar is forced to confront many dangers, earn the respect of others far above his station and even find love – albeit the cost to him is far higher than most men would have been willing to pay.


Pick up your copy of
Oscar's Tale
Now available in paperback

Chris Bishop


Chris was born in London in 1951. After a successful career as a Chartered Surveyor, he retired to concentrate on writing, combining this with his lifelong interest in Anglo-Saxon history.

His first novel, Blood and Destiny, was published in 2017 and his second, The Warrior with the Pierced Heart, in 2018, followed by The Final Reckoning in 2019 and Bloodlines in 2020. Together they form a series entitled The Shadow of the Raven, the fifth and final part of which - The Prodigal Son – was published in 2023.

Chris has also published numerous blogs about his work.

His other interests include travel, windsurfing and fly fishing. 

Chris is a member of the Historical Writers Association.

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I, Richard Plantagenet, the Prequels Complete: The Coming of Age of Richard III (I, RICHARD PLANTAGENET: THE LIFE OF RICHARD III COMPLETE Book by J.P. Reedman


I, Richard Plantagenet, the Prequels Complete:
The Coming of Age of Richard III
(I, RICHARD PLANTAGENET: THE LIFE OF RICHARD III COMPLETE Book) 
By J.P. Reedman


Publication Date: 4th December 2023
Publisher: Independently Published
Page Length: 497 Pages
Genre: Historical Fiction

I, Richard Plantagenet, The Prequels:
The Coming of Age of Richard III
Complete Edition containing books 1-3, THE ROAD FROM FOTHERINGHAY, A VOUS ME LIE, and CROWN IN EXILE

The story of Richard III's childhood and youth, told in first person from his point of view.

When Richard's father, the Duke of York, is killed at Wakefield his mother Cecily Neville sends the young boy and his brother George to Burgundy for their safety. Soon, however, their elder brother takes the throne as Edward IV and the children return to a very different England as royal princes. Richard is sent to the household of the Earl of Warwick at Middleham, a happy and peaceful time, but as tensions erupt between Edward and Warwick he is recalled to his brother's court, where the King rules with his new Queen, the beautiful but unpopular Elizabeth Woodville.

Warwick rebels and young Richard's loyalties are stretched, but he sides with his brother--unlike George who marries Isabel Neville against the King's will. Richard finds his own loves, however, and at a young age becomes father to two illegitimate children, John and Katherine. He also begins to take on adult responsibilities and gathers a loyal following--although he makes his first enemies too, when he stands up to Lord Thomas Stanley in the matter of Hornby Castle.
Then the situation in England grows grave as Warwick's faction rises against Edward, and the King decided to flee overseas to Burgundy. Richard follows him into the eye of the storm on his eighteen birthday...

In Burgundy, Richard and Edward must sweeten the hot-headed Duke Charles, who is married to their sister Margaret but has strong Lancastrian leanings. With additional help of Louis de Gruuthuse, a prominent noble who offers the exiles succour, Charles is eventually won round to helping his wife's kinsmen, and a sizeable army is raised. Edward and Richard set sail and land at Ravenspur in the north. From there they must march with their troops across England--to battle, and maybe to death.

Pick up your copy of
 I, Richard Plantagenet

J.P. Reedman


J.P. Reedman was born in Canada but has lived in the U.K. for nearly 30 years. 

Interests include folklore & anthropology, prehistoric archaeology (neolithic/bronze age Europe; ritual, burial & material culture), as well as The Wars of the Roses and the rest of the medieval era.

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Thursday, 20 March 2025

Blog Tour: Strait Lace by Rosemary Hayward



Strait Lace 
By Rosemary Hayward


Publication Date: 8th March 2025
Publisher: Rosemary Hayward
Pages: 400 Pages
Genre: Historical Fiction

It is 1905. Edwardian England. Harriet Loxley, the daughter of a vicar and niece to a prominent Nottingham lace manufacturer, spends her days playing cricket with her brother, scouring the countryside for botanical specimens, and never missing an opportunity to argue the case for political power for women. Given the chance to visit the House of Commons, Harriet witnesses the failure of a historic bill for women’s voting rights. She also meets the formidable Pankhurst women.
 
When Harriet gets the chance to study biology at Bedford College, London, she finds her opportunity to be at the heart of the fight. From marching in the street, to speaking to hostile crowds, to hurling stones through windows, just how far will Harriet go?

Pick up your copy of
Strait Lace 

Rosemary Hayward


Rosemary Hayward is the author of Margaret Leaving, a historical mystery uncovering little known events that occurred in the immediate aftermath to World War II. She is also the creator of Your Next Book, a deeply nerdy monthly newsletter describing a book picked from her bookshelf, or Kindle. 

She is British by birth but now lives part of the year in California and part in southern Spain.

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AUGUSTA: Volume 2, Part 1 by G. G. MacLeod


AUGUSTA: Volume 2, Part 1
By G. G. MacLeod


Publication Date: 25th April 2023
Publisher: Independently Published
Genre: Historical Anciet World

"I will make you remember me and if I cannot reach Heaven, THEN I SHALL RAISE HELL."

As a child she was mentored by the only other woman to have become the Empress of the Roman Empire, her great-grandmother, the infamous power-broker, Livia Drusilla Caesar. In due course, she was destined to become the only Roman woman to ever openly rule as an Empress in her own name. Her lifelong war of all against all was going to include history's most notorious criminals, bar none, with eternally familiar names like Sejanus, Livilla, Caligula, Messalina, Claudius, Seneca, Tigellenius, and ultimately her own son, the "The Anti-Christ", "The Beast 666", more commonly known as the Emperor Nero.

She could have had every luxury possible to excess, and she could have lived out her string at the summit of the most obscene levels of wealth and decadence, but she only wanted one thing and no one was going to give that to her. She was going to have to kill for it until she had it, and ultimately she was going to have to die for it in order to keep it.

POWER

Her name was Julia Caesar Agrippina Germanicus and Hell followed after her.

Pick up your copy of
AUGUSTA

G. G. MacLeod

I'm a Canadian indie author who also has a straight job. I'm 54 years old and "Augusta" is my first major foray into the world of publishing my work. Otherwise, there's nothing particularly interesting to say about me. I'm a pretty boring person, really who enjoys living a quiet life of reading/writing and thinking up story ideas that no one has actually pursued. 

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The Execution, Life and Times of Patrick O'Donnell:The Last Days of a Condemned Man by Gavin O'Donnell



The Execution, Life and Times of Patrick O'Donnell: 
The Last Days of a Condemned Man
By Gavin O'Donnell


Publication Date: 24th January 2023
Publisher: Perfugulator Publishing
Page Length: 430 Page
Genre: Historical Biographical Fiction

History tells us that Patrick O’Donnell was hanged in Newgate Prison in December 1883 for the murder of James Carey, the infamous Phoenix Park Killer and notorious Irish informer. History however tells us almost nothing of this remarkable man. Letters sent from Victor Hugo and US President Chester A. Arthur, asking Queen Victoria to show clemency, hint at an extraordinary life for an Irish peasant.

In his extraordinary new book, The Execution, Life and Times of Patrick O’Donnell, the author reveals in intimate and fascinating detail, through a series of letters, the incredible life of one man — and the times in which he lived.

Explore the condemned man’s life and times through this unique work of creative fiction, entwined with historical fact; from the Great Hunger to the typhoid sheds of Quebec; from his service in the Confederate army and capture in 1863; to the O’Donnell massacre at Wiggan’s Patch, Pennsylvania; and ultimately to that fateful day off the coast of Port Elizabeth where he put three bullets into the traitor Carey.

Pick up your copy of
The Execution, Life and Times of Patrick O'Donnell

Gavin O'Donnell

Gavin grew up in Wales, Ireland, North Africa and England. An elective mute until the age of 5 his first word was ‘Texaco’... don’t ask. Aged 11 unable to read properly he was classed as Educationally Sub Normal (ESN).

Deciding to ignore the experts, he studied Construction Management in Limerick obtaining a degree and later, at age 40, by way of distance learning he obtained his Batchelor of Laws at Nottingham University. 

He retired early from a varied career including the nuclear industry, telecoms and construction project management. After retiring he and his wife Linda refurbished several cottages in SW France and built up a small holiday business before selling up and returning to rural South Wales, where they diverted their efforts into property development. They now reside in a self-built stone cottage along with three cats; Jess, Bob and Kpo, and several chickens. Their two grown children and one grandchild live nearby.

Gavin started writing in 2019 with a memoir (Father's Day) about the loss of their daughter in a fire in Bordeaux on Father's Day in 1990. It was published in 2022. A few short stories followed and then his ‘piece of resistance’; 'The Execution, Life and Times of Patrick O’Donnell', which is by far his most ambitious project to date. A work of creative fiction closely bound to and conflated with historical facts.

Recognised as Shelf Media Group: 2023 - Top 100 Notable INDIE Books and Reader Favourite: 2023 - 5 Star Award, and receiving a 5 star average rating on Net Galley (the highest possible).

Gavin's screenplay for ‘The Execution Life and Times of Patrick O’Donnell’ reached the 2022 Scriptation Showcase Script Competition quarter finals. 

He is currently working on a humorous but serious novel about mental health, and how it is misunderstood; it is entitled 'Brian'. He is also working on two more children's books, his first being 'A boy is not Just for Christmas'.



Wednesday, 19 March 2025

Hobbadehoy Rising by Max Willi Fischer

 


Hobbadehoy Rising
By Max Willi Fischer


Publication Date: 25th September 2023
Publisher: Historium Press
Page Length: 262 Pages
Genre: Historical Fiction

An orphaned teen in the notorious Five Points district of lower Manhattan in 1854, Pencil’s cursed to scavenge the unforgiving streets where trust is a stranger. Even as slavery has divided the nation, the good Pencil comes across is as rare as a precious gem buried in the manure-strewn streets of Gotham. The shady adults who surround him believe he’s a “hobbhadehoy,” a youth who hasn’t quite reached manhood. Despite years of neglect, he hasn’t lost his empathy for others and a fledgling sense of justice. As the lieutenant of a pack of street rats, he craves greater control of his life. His luck finally runs out when through someone’s treachery, he faces significant prison time.

Pencil’s grasps another opportunity when he’s shipped off to Ohio on one of the first “orphan trains.” Life on the farm proves to be a different challenge under the demanding, and occasionally drunken, thumb of his new guardian. Ultimately, he’s forced to flee, a much stronger physical specimen than when he arrived.

Pencil ends up in Cleveland, where a daguerreotypist takes him under her wing. She teaches him about capturing images on glass and copper while trying to impress upon him the importance of trust. Encounters with corpses, kidnappers, and grave robbers test his acceptance of the idea … and justice.

Pick up your copy of
Hobbadehoy Rising

Max Willi Fischer


I sometimes wonder if my family's background had some unknown impact on my interest in history. I grew up in a bilingual household with German immigrant parents. My father followed his aunt and uncle to America to find work. Family get-togethers were small because the rest of our family remained in Germany. My father worked two jobs to improve our lives and put my brother and me through school. He will always be the most respected man I have known and the ultimate role model. 

 For nearly forty years, I was a classroom teacher at the elementary and middle school level. I taught most subjects in fifth and sixth grades as well as world history and American history at grades seven and eight.

 When I retired, I believed I could engage young adults in the rich history of our land. My first book of historical fiction, "The Corkscrew App" was published in 2016. In 2020, "American Brush-Off" debuted on Amazon and Kindle Select. 

Now, with both of our daughters out on their own, my wife and I enjoy home projects, travel and good movies.

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Blog Tour: The Rune Stone by Julia Ibbotson



The Rune Stone 
By Julia Ibbotson


Publication Date: December 8th, 2021
Publisher: Archbury Books 
Pages: 294 (ebook) / 376 (paperback)
Genre: historical romance (timeslip mystery)

A haunting time-slip mystery of runes and romance

When Dr Viv DuLac, medievalist and academic, finds a mysterious runic inscription on a Rune Stone in the graveyard of her husband’s village church, she unwittingly sets off a chain of circumstances that disturb their quiet lives in ways she never expected.

She, once again, feels the echoes of the past resonate through time and into the present. Can she unlock the secrets of the runes in the life of the 6th century Lady Vivianne and in Viv’s own life?

Again, lives of the past and present intertwine alarmingly as Viv desperately tries to save them both, without changing the course of history.

For fans of Barbara Erskine, Pamela Hartshorne, Susanna Kearsley, Christina Courtenay.

Praise for Julia Ibbotson

(for A Shape on the Air) “In the best Barbara Erskine tradition …I would highly recommend this novel” -Historical Novel Society

(for the series) “Julia does an incredible job of setting up the idea of time-shift so that it’s believable and makes sense” – book tour reviewer

(for The Rune Stone) “beautifully written”, “absorbing and captivating”, “fully immersive”, “wonderfully written characters”, “a skilled story teller” – Amazon reviewers

“Dr Ibbotson has created living, breathing characters that will remain in the reader’s mind long after the book is read … The characters are brought to life beautifully with perfect economy of description … fabulous!” – Melissa Morgan 

“A rich and evocative time-slip novel that beautifully and satisfyingly concludes this superb trilogy. The story is woven seamlessly and skilfully between the past and the present and the reader is drawn deeply into both worlds.  Her portrayal of the 6th century and its way of life are authoritative, vivid and memorable.” – Kate Sullivan

Pick up your copy of
The Rune Stone 
HERE!
This title is available to read on #KindleUnlimited.

Julia Ibbotson 


Julia Ibbotson is fascinated by the medieval world and the concept of time. She is the author of historical mysteries with a frisson of romance. Her books are evocative of time and place, well-researched and uplifting page-turners. Her current series focuses on early medieval time-slip/dual-time mysteries. 

Julia read English at Keele University, England, specialising in medieval language/ literature/ history, and has a PhD in socio-linguistics. 

After a turbulent time in Ghana, West Africa, she became a school teacher, then a university academic and researcher. Her break as an author came soon after she joined the RNA’s New Writers’ Scheme in 2015, with a three-book deal from Lume Books for a trilogy (Drumbeats) set in Ghana in the 1960s. 

She has published five other books, including A Shape on the Air, an Anglo-Saxon timeslip mystery, and its two sequels The Dragon Tree and The Rune Stone. Her work in progress is a new series of Anglo-Saxon mystery romances, beginning with Daughter of Mercia, where echoes of the past resonate across the centuries. 

Julia’s novels will appeal to fans of Barbara Erskine, Pamela Hartshorne, Susanna Kearsley, and Christina Courtenay. Her readers say: ‘Julia’s books captured my imagination’, ‘beautiful story-telling’, ‘evocative and well-paced storylines’, ‘brilliant and fascinating’ and ‘I just couldn’t put it down’.

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West of Santillane by Brook Allen



 West of Santillane
By Brook Allen
 

Publication Date: 8th March 2024
Publisher: Dawg House Books 
Page Length: 377 Page
Genre: Historical Biographical Fiction

Desperate to escape a mundane future as a Virginia planter’s wife, Julia Hancock seizes her chance for adventure when she wins the heart of American hero William Clark. Though her husband is the famed explorer, Julia embarks on her own thrilling and perilous journey of self-discovery.

With her gaze ever westward, Julia possesses a hunger for knowledge and a passion for helping others. She falls in love with Will’s strength and generous manner, but, like her parents, he is a slave owner, and Julia harbors strong opinions against slavery. Still, her love for Will wins out, though he remains unaware of her beliefs.

Julia finds St. Louis to be a rough town with few of the luxuries to which she is accustomed, harboring scandalous politicians and miscreants of all types. As her husband and his best friend, Meriwether Lewis, work to establish an American government and plan to publish their highly anticipated memoirs, Julia struggles to assume the roles of both wife and mother. She is also drawn into the plight of an Indian family desperate to return to their own lands and becomes an advocate for Will’s enslaved.

When political rivals cause trouble, Julia’s clandestine aid to the Indians and enslaved of St. Louis draws unwanted attention, placing her at odds with her husband. Danger cloaks itself in far too many ways, leading her to embrace the courage to save herself and others through a challenge of forgiveness that will either restore the love she shares with Will or end it forever.

Pick up your copy of
 West of Santillane

Brook Allen


Author Brook Allen has a passion for history. Her newest project, West of Santillane spotlights history from a little closer to home. It’s the story of Julia Hancock, who married famed explorer, William Clark. Each character of this thrilling, adventurous period was researched throughout southwest Virginia and into Kentucky, Missouri, Montana, Idaho, and North Dakota. It launches in March of 2024.

Brook belongs to the Historical Novel Society and attends conferences as often as possible to study craft and meet fellow authors. In 2019, Son of Rome won the Coffee Pot Book Club Book of the Year Award. In 2020, it was honored with a silver medal in the international Reader’s Favorite Book Reviewers Book Awards and also won First Place in the prestigious Chaucer Division in the Chanticleer International Book Awards, 2020. 

The Antonius Trilogy is a detailed account of the life of Marcus Antonius—Marc Antony, which she worked on for fifteen years. The first installment, Antonius: Son of Rome was published in March 2019. It follows Antony as a young man, from the age of eleven, when his father died in disgrace, until he’s twenty-seven and meets Cleopatra for the first time. Brook’s second book is Antonius: Second in Command, dealing with Antony’s tumultuous rise to power at Caesar’s side and culminating with the civil war against Brutus and Cassius. Antonius: Soldier of Fate is the last book in the trilogy, spotlighting the romance between Antonius and Cleopatra and the historic war with Octavian Caesar. 

Though she graduated from Asbury University with a B.A. in Music Education, Brook has always loved writing. She completed a Masters program at Hollins University with an emphasis in Ancient Roman studies, which helped prepare her for authoring her Antonius Trilogy. Brook teaches full-time as a Music Educator and works in a rural public-school district near Roanoke, Virginia. Her personal interests include travel, cycling, hiking in the woods, reading, and spending downtime with her husband and big, black dog, Jak. She lives in the heart of southwest Virginia in the scenic Blue Ridge Mountains. 

Connect with Brook:
Website 
Twitter 
Facebook




Tuesday, 18 March 2025

If It’s the Last Thing I Do by David Fitz-Gerald

 


If It’s the Last Thing I Do
By David Fitz-Gerald

Publication Date: August 15th, 2023
Publisher: Historium Press
Pages: 329
Genre: Historical Thriller

It's 1975, and Misty Menard unexpectedly inherits her father's business in Lake Placid, New York. It never occurred to her that she could wind up as the CEO of a good old-fashioned manufacturing company.

After years of working for lawyers, Misty knows a few things about the law. Her favorite young attorney is making a name for himself, helping traditionally owned companies become employee owned, using a little-known, newly-passed law. When he offers to help Misty convert Adirondack Dowel into an ESOP, pro bono, Misty jumps at the chance. 

The employees are stunned, the management team becomes hostile, and the Board of Directors is concerned. Misfortune quickly follows the business transformation. A big customer files for bankruptcy. A catastrophic ice jam floods the business. Stagflation freezes the economy. A mysterious shrouded foe plots revenge. Misty's family faces a crisis. The Trustee is convinced something fishy is going on, the appraiser keeps lowering the company's value, and the banker demands additional capital infusions. Misty thought she had left her smoking addiction and alcoholism in the past, but when a worker's finger is severed in an industrial accident, Misty relapses.

Disasters threaten to doom the troubled company. After surviving two world wars and the Great Depression, it breaks Misty's heart to think that she has destroyed her father's company. All she wants is to cement her father's legacy and take care of the people who built the iconic local business. Can a quirky CEO and her loyal band of dedicated employee owners save an heirloom company from foreclosure, repossession, and bankruptcy?

Pick up your copy of
If It’s the Last Thing I Do

David Fitz-Gerald



David Fitz-Gerald writes historical fiction in his spare time, with the hope of transporting readers to another time and place.

If It's the Last Thing I Do is his 7th novel.

Dave has worked for more than 30 years as an accountant, employee owner, and member of the management team at a "silver" ESOP (employee-owned) company. He has championed the cause in national, non-profit association leadership roles.

Dave’s family roots run deep in the Adirondacks, going back generations. He attended college and worked at a deli in Saranac Lake during the 1980s. He spent two summers as an elf at Santa’s Workshop on Whiteface Mountain in the 1970s and is an Adirondack 46-er, which means he has hiked all of New York’s highest peaks.

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