Monday 31 January 2022

Blog Tour: Shake Loose the Border (Thunder on the Moor, Book 3) by Andrea Matthews #HistoricalRomance #TimeTravelRomance #BlogTour #CoffeePotBookClub @AMatthewsAuthor @maryanneyarde


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Shake Loose the Border 
(Thunder on the Moor, Book 3)
By Andrea Matthews


April 11th – 15th 2022

Publication Date: 22nd November 2021
Publisher: Inez M. Foster
Page Length: 356 Pages
Genre: Historical Time Travel Romance

With Will and Maggie’s wedding just a week away, the last thing they need to stumble upon is Johnnie Hetherington’s dead body tied to a tree, especially one that’s so close to their cottage. Recognizing it as a sure sign that Johnnie has betrayed the family once too often, Sergeant Richie Carnaby gathers Will and his family together for questioning, though it seems obvious only a fool would kill a man on his own land. Then who did murder the rogue, and why?

Feeling confident it wasn’t any of the Fosters, Richie allows Will and Maggie’s wedding to proceed, but the couple has barely exchanged vows when the Armstrongs attack in force. Geordie is determined to rescue his niece from the clutches of Will Foster, whether she wants to go or not. And if he happens to make her a widow in the process, so be it. Will senses the danger and implores Dylan to get Maggie away to safety, no matter where — or when — that may be.

Though Maggie protests, Will assures her he will follow as soon as he is able. Yet how can that be possible when Dylan whisks her back to the twentieth century? Sharing her fears about Will, and unable to forget his own love, Annie, Dylan attempts to return to the past one last time despite his growing concerns over the disintegrating amulet stone. But will he make it in time to rescue Will, or will the villainous Ian Rutherford, who has already killed in cold blood once, win the ultimate battle and see Will and Maggie separated forever?


Andrea Matthews


Andrea Matthews is the pseudonym for Inez Foster, a historian and librarian who loves to read and write and search around for her roots, genealogical speaking. She has a BA in History and an MLS in Library Science, and enjoys the research almost as much as she does writing the story. In fact, many of her ideas come to her while doing casual research or digging into her family history. She is the author of the Thunder on the Moor series set on the 16th century Anglo-Scottish Border, and the Cross of Ciaran series, where a fifteen hundred year old Celt finds himself in the twentieth century. Andrea is a member of the Romance Writers of America, Long Island Romance Writers, and the Historical Novel Society.


Social Media Links:

Website • Twitter • FacebookInstagram • BookBub • Amazon Author Page • Goodreads




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Blog Tour: The Douglas Bastard (A sequel to The Black Douglas Trilogy) by J R Tomlin #HistoricalFiction #Scotland #BlogTour #CoffeePotBookClub @JRTomlinAuthor @maryanneyarde


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The Douglas Bastard 
(A sequel to The Black Douglas Trilogy)
By J R Tomlin


April 25th – 29th 2022

Publication Date: 26th April 2022
Publisher: Albannach Publishing
Genre: Historical Fiction

The Black Douglas is dead. With Scotland's greatest knight no more, the throne is up for grabs as enemies try to devour the kingdom.

An orphaned youth returning from exile, Archibald, the Black Douglas's bastard son, fights for a land being torn apart from within and without. If Archibald is to survive, he must learn to sleep with a claymore in his hand and one eye open because even his closest friend might betray him...

This is an adventure set in the bloody Second Scottish War of Independence when Scotland's very survival is in question.


JR Tomlin


J. R. Tomlin is the author of nineteen historical novels.


She has close ties with Scotland since her father was a native Scot, and she spent substantial time in Edinburgh while growing up. Her historical novels are set for the most part in Scotland. Her love of that nation is traced from the stories of Robert the Bruce and the Good Sir James her grandmother read to her when she was small, to hillwalking through the Cairngorms where the granite hills have a gorgeous red glow under the setting sun. Later, her writing was influenced by Alexander Dumas, Victor Hugo, Nigel Tranter, and Sir Walter Scott.


When JR isn't writing, she enjoys hiking, playing with her Westie, and killing monsters in computer games. In addition to spending time in Scotland, she has traveled in the US, Europe, and the Pacific Rim. She now lives in Oregon.


Social Media Links:

Website • Twitter • BookBub • Amazon Author Page • Goodreads




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Blog Tour: Where the Gulls Fall Silent by Lelita Baldock #HistoricalFiction #WheretheGullsFallSilent #BlogTour #CoffeePotBookClub @LelitaBaldock @maryanneyarde


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Where the Gulls Fall Silent
By Lelita Baldock


April 25th – 29th 2022

Publication Date: 28th October 2021
Publisher: Independently Published
Page Length:  231 Pages
Genre: Historical Fiction

A small fishing village, a shunned healer, her daughter, tradition, superstition and a world set to change.

Kerensa lives with her mother, the healer Meliora, on the edge of a small fishing community on the Cornish Coast.

The townsfolk, who work the fish runs of pilchard and mackerel that make their way up the Atlantic coast, call on her mother for help with their ailments, but never for her company.

Kerensa does not know why.

Curses and superstitions whisper around her as she grows into a competent young woman, fighting for her place amongst the people of Porth Gwynn.

But what has caused the rift between her and the town?

And can their traditional way of life survive in the face of changing winds?

Where the Gulls Fall Silent is an historical fiction that explores the lives of the fishermen and women who made their living from the rough Atlantic Ocean; the hardship they faced; the secrets that divided them; and the community spirit that pulled them through.

A story of love, loss, hope and second chances.


Lelita Baldock


Lelita Baldock is an author of historical fiction and crime fiction.

She has a passion for dark stories, with an unexpected twist.


It was during her years studying English Literature at University that Lelita discovered her love of all things reading and writing. But it would be another 15 years before she would take up the challenge and write her own novel.


Her debut novel, the historical fiction Widow's Lace, is an Amazon best-seller.


Her follow up, The Unsound Sister, saw her take a different direction in her writing, trying her hand at crime fiction and has been warmly received globally.


Her third novel, Where the Gulls Fall Silent, a traditional historical fiction set in mid-1800s Cornwall, is out now.


Lelita also runs a blog and newsletter featuring fellow authors and other creatives.


Social Media Links:

Website • Twitter • Facebook • Instagram • Amazon Author Page




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Thursday 27 January 2022

Have a sneak-peek between the covers of Elizabeth R. Andersen's fabulous novel - The Scribe (The Two Daggers, Book 1) #HistoricalFiction #MedievalFiction #BlogTour @E_R_A_writes



The Scribe
(The Two Daggers, Book 1)
By Elizabeth R. Andersen



Publication Date: 18th July 2021
Publisher: Haeddre Press
Page Length: 360 Pages
Genre: Historical Fiction


All Henri of Maron wanted was to stay with his family on his country estate, surrounded by lemon groves and safety. But in 13th century Palestine, when noble-born boys are raised to fight for the Holy Land, young Henri will be sent to live and train among men who hate him for what he is: a French nobleman of an Arab mother. Robbed of his humanity and steeped in cruelty, his encounters with a slave soldier, a former pickpocket, and a kindly scribe will force Henri to confront his own beliefs and behaviors. 

Will Henri maintain the status quo in order to fit into a society that doesnt want him, or will fate intervene first?

The first book in The Two Daggers series, The Scribe takes readers on a sweeping adventure through the years and months that lead up to the infamous Siege of Acre in 1291 CE and delves into the psyches of three young people caught up in the wave of history.



Chapter 35

Sidika stepped back from her half-finished manuscript and scowled. “I wish,” she said with an agitated stomp, “that we could make finer brushes, Father. It is so difficult to achieve the correct level of detail with these tools.”

“Never mind, my dear. You have a very steady hand, which more than makes up for the clumsy tools we must use,” Tamrat smiled.

“Perhaps I shall cease learning to scribe and invent a better brush instead,” Sidika growled crossly. “As well I should, for you and I both know that these skills will be useless to me once I marry.”

“Useless? There are no competent shaykhas for a hundred miles of here!”

“A woman must be trained in a madrasa or by a scholar of renown to be a shaykha, Father.”

“So? And have I not made you read the Qur’an and understand its concepts? Such beautiful prose and expressions of devotion in that book!”

“I am not a religious scholar father, and neither are you. We should both leave these musings to those who devote their lives to such questions.” 

She glowered at the illustration on the paper before her. It still looked too heavy-handed, and she continued to glare at her brush until Tamrat took it from her hand and set it down on the table. 

“I shall buy you some new brushes the next time I am in Damascus, my dear.” He hesitated, looking at her sideways. “Truly, my daughter, what do you want in your life? Do you really think you cannot continue to scribe once you are married?” 

Sidika stared at him for a moment. “I am a woman. I have no right to want anything.”

“I know not where you got that idea. Your mother and I never encouraged it.”

Sidika wiped her ink-stained hands on a cloth and removed her ragged wool apron. “You and mother are not normal, Father. What else can a woman aspire to but to bear children and hope that she or they will not die, or to marry a man who rarely beats her.”

“When I met your mother, she did not wish for any of those things. She made herself a valuable member of the community with her knowledge of herbs.”

“As I said. Not normal,” Sidika kissed him on the cheek and walked outside to the little oven, whose coals glowed dimly, nestled in a bed of ash. Tamrat followed her out and watched her for a moment as she poked a reticent flame to life with a stick.

“You are also not normal, Sidika. I know of no other young woman your age who is as well-educated as you, and I have known princesses and matrons of great houses. I wonder if I did you a disservice, for most men find an educated woman to be intimidating. Here now! Perhaps we could find a way for you to join the nuns! They are also educated and spend their days reading and writing.”

“Father!” Sidika laughed. “We are Jews. I do not think the nuns would take me. Why do you have a sudden interest in converting me to another religion?”

Tamrat shrugged. “You do not have to convert, and they do not have to know. Since you are a Turk, you could always tell them that, and maybe they will not ask about your religion.”

Sidika shot him a flat look. “I feel certain that the nuns would ask about my faith. No, Father, I want nothing. I am happy here with you. I shall take care of you until you die, and then I will either marry or take a job in the city.”

“No man would hire you, Sidika. I worry about you. I have promised that you may choose your husband, but how will a village man deal with a wife such as you? You must have some protection and income after I am gone.”

Sidika held up her bow in one hand and a quill in the other. 

“What were you saying?”

Tamrat laughed. “Yes, I see you can take care of yourself. But my daughter, perhaps we should send you to the land of the Franj. There are learned women there, and some of them write. The von Bingen woman – she even counseled kings!”

“She was a rarity. “

“And so are you!” Tamrat pounded the side of the house, sending a shower of dried mud-plaster to the ground. 

The world in which he raised his children was not the world he wanted. He knew that to take Sidika to Francia or to the Italian peninsula would mean exposing them to danger and discrimination. He knew that if she did not marry, she would be accused of witchcraft because of her knowledge. He also could not imagine any man who would not be threatened by her intellect. He had cursed her with this learning.

“Father, I am happy,” she said, putting her hand on his arm. “I know no other women or girls in this village who are happy. I do not aspire to be a counselor to kings. I just want to stay here with you. I want to keep learning.”

“Daughter, I wish for you to go out into the world and move the stars in the sky. Change the thoughts of men and fill their hearts with fear and awe when they see you coming, because they know you have knowledge and courage. I wish all of these things for you, and I know that you cannot have them because you were born a woman. But I can still wish them for you.”

Sidika smiled. “But I love you for wanting it, Father, and perhaps I will be so lucky as to meet a man who also feels the same way.” She scanned the ground of their small dooryard until she spied two little brown eggs that the hens had left hidden in their dust wallows, then took them inside. 

“You should marry a king. You should have the run of your own scriptorium. A hundred novice scribes under your care…” Tamrat drifted off as he followed her in.

“It is not wise to wish for things that you cannot have. And besides, if I become truly desperate for the arms of a man, there is always Fakri,” she laughed. 

Tamrat chuckled and helped her prepare supper. Evening birds swooped over their heads, and a hot breeze swept across the dry hills. When the meal had finished cooking, they sat outside on the bench beside the door, balancing their clay bowls on their laps and waving at the neighbors as they walked past. 

When they had finished, Tamrat remained outside alone, his face lifted to the heavens as the stars appeared one by one in the mellow, autumn sky. Hashem, he pleaded, I am getting old, and I have not been the most faithful of Your people, but I beg you, please let no harm come to my daughter after I am gone. She is too talented and unusual to let her waste away.

Hashem was silent, and the stars looked on him impassively. Despite the heat of the night, Tamrat shivered. 


Pick up your copy of 
The Scribe at your favourite online bookstore:

Click HERE.



The Land of God
(The Two Daggers, Book 2)
By Elizabeth R. Andersen


Publication Date: 8th November 2021
Publisher: Haeddre Press
Page Length: 350 Pages
Genre: Historical Fiction

Pain. His sister’s screams. And a beautiful face in the jeering crowd. When Henri of Maron woke, he had only a few memories of his brutal flogging, but he knew the world had changed. He had changed.

Now, as he grapples with the fallout from his disastrous decisions, war with the Mamluk army looms closer. To convince the city leaders to take the threat seriously, Henri and the grand master of the Templars must rely on unlikely allies and bold risks to avoid a siege.

Meanwhile, Sidika is trying to find a way to put her life back together. When she is forced to flee her home, her chance encounters with a handsome amir and a strangely familiar old woman will have consequences for her future.

The Land of God weaves the real historical figures with rich, complex characters and an edge-of-seat plot. Readers who enjoyed the Brethren series by Robyn Young and The Physician by Noah Gordon will appreciate this immersive tale set in the Middle East in the Middle Ages.


Pick up your copy of The Land of God at your favourite online bookstore:

Click Here.



Elizabeth R. Andersen's debut novel, The Scribe, launched in July of 2021. Although she spent many years of her life as a journalist, independent fashion designer, and overworked tech employee, there have always been two consistent loves in her life: writing and history. She finally decided to do something about this and put them both together. 

Elizabeth lives in the Seattle area with her long-suffering husband and young son. On the weekends she usually hikes in the stunning Cascade mountains to hide from people and dream up new plotlines and characters. Elizabeth is a member of the Historical Novel Society and the Alliance of Independent Authors.

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Wednesday 26 January 2022

Blog Tour: A Ha’penny Will Do By Alison Huntingford #HistoricalFiction #BlogTour #CoffeePotBookClub @ahuntingford9 @maryanneyarde


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A Ha’penny Will Do
By Alison Huntingford



April 18th – 22nd 2022

Publication Date: 31st January 2022
Publisher: Austin Macauley
Page Length: 368 Pages
Genre: Historical Fiction

Love, dreams and destitution

Three members of one family are linked by their struggle to survive poverty and war at the turn of the century.  

Kate, a homesick, lonely Irish immigrant, dreams of being a writer.  After difficult times in Liverpool she comes to London looking for a better life.  Hoping to escape from a life of domestic service into marriage and motherhood, she meets charming rogue William Duffield.  Despite her worries about his uncertain temperament, she becomes involved with him. Will it be an escape or a prison? 

Fred is a restless elder son, devoted to his mother yet locked in a tempestuous relationship with his father.  War intervenes and he secretly signs up to serve abroad.  Is his bad reputation deserved?  What will become of him?

Joe, too young to sign up for WW1, is left to endure the hardships of war on the home front and deal with his own guilt at not being able to serve.  He starts an innocent friendship with his sister-in-law which sustains him through hard times.  Will he survive the bombs, the riots, the rationing and find true love in the end?

These are their intertwined and interlocking stories recreated through the medium of diaries, letters and personal recollections, based on the author’s family history covering the period of 1879 – 1920. The truth is never plain and rarely simple. 

This novel is a fresh and compelling look at life for the working-class poor in England at the end of the Victorian era.  Covering issues such as the struggle for home rule in Ireland, the hardships of domestic service, marital strife, the suffragettes and the horrors of World War 1 on the home front and abroad, this is a realistic and gripping tale which keeps the reader involved in their human plight all the way.


Alison Huntingford


Alison Huntingford has a degree in humanities with literature, and has always enjoyed reading, especially, the great writers of the 19th century. 


She is an only child of two only children and so has always felt a distinct lack of family. This has inspired her to research her family history and most of her writing is based on this. Her debut novel, The Glass Bulldog, was published in 2019, and was nominated for the Walter Scott Prize for historical fiction. This is her second full length novel, although, she has also written several short stories. 


In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her husband and their pets, listening to music, going to the cinema, and gardening.  She lives in Devon, on the edge of Dartmoor.


Social Media Links:

Website • Twitter • Facebook • LinkedIn • Instagram • Amazon Author Page • Goodreads




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