Thursday 30 November 2017

Blog Tour & #Giveaway ~ There is always tomorrow #HistFic #Historical #HistoricalFiction @hfvbt @abelfrageauthor


Blog Tour and Giveaway ~
 Historical Virtual Book Tour Presents....


There is Always a Tomorrow
by Anna Belfrage

 
There is Always a Tomorrow is the ninth book in Anna Belfrage’s time slip series featuring time traveller Alexandra Lind and her seventeenth century husband, Matthew Graham.

It is 1692 and the Colony of Maryland is still adapting to the consequences of Coode’s Rebellion some years previously. Religious tolerance in the colony is now a thing of the past, but safe in their home, Alex and Matthew Graham have no reason to suspect they will become embroiled in the ongoing religious conflicts—until one of their sons betrays their friend Carlos Muñoz to the authorities.
Matthew Graham does not leave his friends to rot—not even if they’re papist priests—so soon enough most of the Graham family is involved in a rescue attempt, desperate to save Carlos from a sentence that may well kill him.

Meanwhile, in London little Rachel is going through hell. In a matter of months she loses everything, even her surname, as apparently her father is not Master Cooke but one Jacob Graham. Not that her paternity matters when her entire life implodes.
Will Alex and Matthew be able to help their unknown grandchild? More importantly, will Rachel want their help?

Excerpt

There were certain aspects of seventeenth century life Alex could well do without, and top of that list was the dratted Richard Campbell. Men like him were fortunately rare on the ground—and if Alex were to be honest, creeps existed just as much in her original time as in the seventeenth century. The difference was that a pompous minister, however sleazy, was accorded substantial respect in this day and age. While most people could read and write, the supposition was that learned men such as ministers had read much, much more, thereby acquiring an unplumbed depth of wisdom. Huh: in Campbell’s case, Alex seriously doubted he’d ever progressed beyond learning by rote.

On this fine September morning, Alex was hurrying along with Matthew towards the town hall and the impending trials when she bumped into her least favourite minister ever. Well, "bump" was fortunately not in the literal sense, as Richard Campbell came to an abrupt stop at the sight of her and scowled. 

Beside her, Matthew muttered an expletive and attempted to guide them away from the minister. Not to be, as Campbell was accompanied by a band of cronies who rapidly blocked their way.

“And what may you be doing here?” Campbell demanded. He looked Alex up and down. “Ah, yes: the papist priest is a friend of yours, isn’t he?” He laughed, a high-pitched sound that grated on Alex’s ears.

“Maybe he serves as your familiar.”

Matthew stepped forward. “Hold your mouth.” 

“Hold my mouth?” Richard Campbell sneered. “Oh, no Graham, not this time. This time, I…” and here he broadened his stance, placed his hands on either side of his waist and puffed out his chest, “Richard Campbell, will root out evil wherever I find it and see it burn!”

“Like you helped them do in Salem?” Matthew snorted. “Superstitious nonsense, and God will surely throw you in the deepest pits of hell for your persecution of the innocent and feeble-minded.”

“Superstition?” Campbell looked about to choke. Alex hoped he would. The horror show offered by the Salem Trials had left narrow-minded bigots like Richard Campbell firmly on the top of the dung-heap. “Evil lives amongst us!” He shook his finger at them. “Evil, Graham, evil. Like yon papist priest.”

“Don’t be an idiot!” Alex said. “Oh, right, I forgot: you are an idiot.” She ignored Matthew’s aggravated look and ploughed on. “Carlos Muñoz is a good and educated man, not an evil bone in his body.”

“Well, you would say so, wouldn’t you? You harboured him—you and your apostate of a daughter. I am telling you,” Campbell continued, “it is people like the Grahams, who succour the papist heretics, nourish them at their breasts, who are the greatest danger to our colony. The enemy within, my friends, behold them!” With a flourish he pointed at Alex and Matthew, yelped loudly when Julian Allerton grabbed him by the arm.

“Back to your fire and brimstone preaching?” Julian said. “Planning on subjecting yet another woman to your untoward advances?”

“Untoward?” Campbell yanked himself free.

“We all saw it.” Julian pitched his voice so it carried. “A minister, crazed by lust, groping a good and decent woman. You, Mr Campbell, throwing Mrs Graham to the ground and baring her skin to your roving hands and drooling mouth.”

Eeuuw! Alex pulled her shawl tight. It hadn’t exactly been like that, seeing as Campbell had been armed with a very large, very sharp needle with which he had attempted to prick her, but Julian’s word had the men closest to Campbell distancing themselves from him. 

“It is a lie!” Campbell yelled. “A foul lie, a—”

“I saw what I saw.” Julian looked Campbell up and down. “Only the fact that you were a minister saved you from an extended stand at the pillory—that, and your promise never to return.”

“She has you bewitched,” Richard bleated. “All this nonsense you are spouting, it is because she has spelled you.”

“Spelled me?” Julian snorted. “In this the Colony of Maryland we do not believe in such nonsense as witches. Only uneducated boors hold with such primitive beliefs.” He took a step closer to Campbell. “If I see you even looking at Mrs Graham, I will have no alternative but to go directly to Governor Blakiston and give him a full account of what transpired when last you were here.”

“Try,” Campbell sneered. “I have the ear of the Protestant Associators—both Blakiston and Coode.”

“Ah, but so do many of us,” a voice from somewhere at the back said. William Hancock, Ian’s father-in-law, pushed forward. “And I saw it too, just as Minister Allerton described it.”

“It’s nice, isn’t it, when one’s friends do the fighting on your behalf,” Alex murmured to Matthew.

“Oh, aye.” His breath tickled her cheek. “It won’t help much, not with that toad of a man.”

“Why did he come back?” Alex asked. “Why leave Salem when he must have been as happy as a pig in muck up there?”

“I don’t know. Maybe he decided it was safe to come here now that Minister Walker has passed."

“Well, I hope he isn't staying."


"Amen to that." Matthew frowned.

Giveaway
During the Blog Tour we will be giving away 2 eBooks and 2 paperback copies of There is Always a Tomorrow! You can enter the giveaway HERE!

Giveaway Rules

• Giveaway ends at 11:59pm EST on December 21st. 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.

Links for Purchase


About the author
Anna was raised abroad, on a pungent mix of Latin American culture, English history and Swedish traditions. As a result she’s multilingual and most of her reading is historical- both non-fiction and fiction. Possessed of a lively imagination, she has drawers full of potential stories, all of them set in the past. She was always going to be a writer – or a historian, preferably both. Ideally, Anna aspired to becoming a pioneer time traveller, but science has as yet not advanced to the point of making that possible. Instead she ended up with a degree in Business and Finance, with very little time to spare for her most favourite pursuit. Still, one does as one must, and in between juggling a challenging career Anna raised her four children on a potent combination of invented stories, historical debates and masses of good food and homemade cakes. They seem to thrive…

For years she combined a challenging career with four children and the odd snatched moment of writing. Nowadays Anna spends most of her spare time at her writing desk. The children are half grown, the house is at times eerily silent and she slips away into her imaginary world, with her imaginary characters. Every now and then the one and only man in her life pops his head in to ensure she’s still there.

Other than on her website, www.annabelfrage.com, Anna can mostly be found on her blog, http://annabelfrage.wordpress.com – unless, of course, she is submerged in writing her next novel. You can also connect with Anna on FacebookTwitter and Goodreads.

There is Always a Tomorrow by Anna Belfrage
Publication Date: November 5, 2017
Timelight Press
eBook & Paperback; ISBN: 9781788039666
Series: Graham Saga, Book #9
Genre: Historical Fiction/Time-Slip


Wednesday 29 November 2017

Author’s Inspiration ~ Diane Rapp #mystery @DianeRapp

Please give a warm welcome to multi-genre author Diane Rapp. Diane is going to share her inspirations behind her latest book…

DNA STALKER: Revenge or Justice?


It all began with the Jonestown Massacre of 1978.  The supposed suicide of Jim Jones prompted an intense manhunt by his enforcement team, the Red Brigade, which honed skills needed to capture or kill the illusive prey.
The stalker has tracked a target for thirty-nine years and won't be easily stopped by a pair of ship’s detectives.  DNA profiling might lead the stalker to the target, endangering innocents along the way.  Does the stalker seek revenge, justice, or stolen jewels?
Natalia and Jason work together on the cruise ship, Sea Mist, and they must stop the stalker from harming identical twins aboard the ship!  Hundreds of suspects are cruising to the western Caribbean, including six sets of identical twins.  They are participating in Genetics Ultra’s DNA study called the “Twins Project.”
Who does the Stalker seek?  Which pair of twins are in danger?
Natalia and Jason accompany the twins on shore excursions, and discover that preventing a crime is more difficult than solving one.  The partners work to unmask the culprit and protect the twins.  Will Natalia and Jason be able to stop a well-prepared assassin?

Author’s Inspiration

The inspiration for this novel came in several parts.  I was given an Ancestry DNA kit for Christmas and promptly “spat” into the vial before I sent it off.  While they processed the DNA, I waited impatiently.  In the meantime my husband scheduled a “free” cruise to the western Caribbean during January.  Before we sailed, I read an article about twins-separated-at-birth; some of the twins shared similar habits, occupations, spouse’s names, and children’s names—interesting. 

Let’s back up to the cruise.  I actually won a “free” cruise by playing Bingo during an Alaskan cruise five years ago.  On that cruise, I was doing research about Alaska for my novel Murder for Glacier Blue.  We postponed taking the cruise because we were so busy.  Finally my husband decided to go ahead and book the cruise for my birthday.  He’s so sweet!  We found out that airfare, port fees, excursion fees, hotel rooms (before and after the cruise), and tips added up.  Our “free” cruise got expensive, but it was my birthday present!

During the cruise to Cozumel, Grand Cayman, the Florida Keys, and a private island in the Bahamas, I took notes, photos, and video of places and tours to include in my new book.  Back home, I received my DNA profile and decided to incorporate DNA profiling into the novel.  I grew tired of solving a murder in each book, so my investigators would prevent one.  I have trouble making up titles, but this time the title, DNA STALKER got stuck in my mind. 
What was the stalker’s motive? 
I decided that the twins would be in their late thirties and the parents near sixty, therefore, I started thinking about the time period during the twins’ birth.   There was a horrific event in 1978 that made newspaper headlines worldwide: the Jonestown Massacre in Guyana.  While researching the event, I discovered that Jim Jones was the only person who died from a gunshot rather than cyanide poisoning.  Did someone else kill him?  The stalker’s motive might be revenge for the killing of Jim Jones.
New main characters will star in this novel, although both were introduced as side characters in previous books.  Jason Briggs is an ex-Interpol agent who once wanted to be an actor, and his love interest, Natalia Baliskov, is a real psychic.  When she touches a person, she sees visions of their past or future.  She can also communicate with ghosts.  The couple joined the CCL security team during the novel Murder on a Ghost Ship. In the new novel, the pair must protect six different sets of twins and prevent the stalker from killing the prime target.
Four inspirations inspired my thriller:  DNA profiling, twins-separated-at-birth, the Jonestown Massacre, and a romantic cruise to the western Caribbean.  I developed the back-stories of characters to fit these different elements, and sent them cruising to the islands I had just experienced.  I describe tourist attractions in my books, so everything was very fresh in my mind (and my pictures). 
This is not a typical murder mystery.  I don’t like to read steamy scenes, blood, guts, or gore, so I don’t write them.  This book is clean enough to appeal to “cozy” readers, but delivers enough suspense and action to appeal to “thriller” enthusiasts.  I hope readers might be intrigued enough to purchase a copy.

Links for Purchase

About the author
Diane Rapp began her writing career by publishing a Caribbean tour guide book with her daughter, who worked as a shore excursion officer on cruise ships. Diane incorporates the behind-the-scenes life of a ship’s crew along with real tourist destinations into the High Seas Mystery Series.  Her readers love to dream about future travel or refresh their memories. 
Diane considers herself a “split” personality author.  She has published ten novels total in several different genres: science-fiction, mystery, fantasy, and a game book based on the High Seas Mystery Series.
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