Throwback Thursday with Penny Hampson

Throwback Thursday with 
Penny Hampson

A Gentleman’s Promise: A Regency Romance (Gentlemen Book 1)

Published 11th March 2021 

For this week’s Throwback Thursday at Yarde Book Promotions, we are delighted to welcome back Penny Hampson as she reflects on one of the books that marked an important milestone in her writing journey.

A Gentleman’s Promise, the first novel in Penny’s Gentlemen series, was published on 11th March 2021 and introduced readers to a world of Regency romance, honour and emotional restraint, set against the elegance and social conventions of the period. As the opening book in the series, it laid the foundations for characters, themes and storytelling that would continue to develop throughout the novels that followed.

In this interview, Penny looks back on the experience of writing and publishing A Gentleman’s Promise, reflects on what the book represents to her today, and shares how her writing and career have evolved since its publication.

Join us as we revisit the novel that began the Gentlemen series and explore the journey behind the story.

Mary Anne: Looking back to 2021, what first inspired you to write A Gentleman’s Promise and begin the Gentlemen series?

Penny Hampson: I’ve always been a fan of Regency fiction, especially the novels of Georgette Heyer who I discovered in my teens (in fact, Heyer is credited with inventing the genre of Regency romance). These stories offered an escape from my 21st century problems, with their tales of beautiful houses, fabulous dresses, elopements, masquerades, courtship, and romances.

Anyway, as retirement loomed and knowing that I’d have time on my hands, I decided to write my own Regency stories; ones that that included all the elements I seek in a good book ––history, mystery, and of course, romance. I also wanted my stories to focus, not on the aristocracy, but the wealthier classes; in the fictional Regency world there are far too many dukes. And so, with A Gentleman’s Promise, the Gentleman Series was born.

Mary Anne: When you were writing this book, what were your biggest hopes or fears about putting your work out into the world?

Penny Hampson: My main hope was that at least some readers would enjoy my story and appreciate the amount of work that had gone into it. As a historian, I know a fair bit about the Regency period, but to write a believable story set in the past you have got to know every detail of the period you are writing about. What food did my characters eat? What did they wear? How long does it take to travel a certain distance on horseback or in a carriage? These were just some of the subjects I needed to research. It was only when I actually started writing that I realised that despite my qualifications, my knowledge in some areas of Regency life was sadly lacking. 

My biggest fears were that I’d get things wrong and I’d bore my readers. Thankfully, that doesn’t seem to have happened.

Mary Anne: Which character from A Gentleman’s Promise taught you the most about yourself as a writer?

Penny Hampson: There isn’t one character that I would single out. Every character was important to me, not just the main protagonists, Richard and Emma, but also the secondary characters. It was crucial to get inside their heads and work out what they were thinking and what they would say. One thing I would add, is that characters sometimes take on a life of their own; my villain turned into someone I cared about, so much so that I didn’t kill him off but gave him a future in subsequent books. 

Mary Anne: What part of writing A Gentleman’s Promise surprised you the most — creatively or professionally?

Penny Hampson: I think I was most surprised by the sheer amount of research required to ensure all the period details were correct. Of course, not all my research made it into the finished story, too much history would be boring. Stuff that didn’t make it into the story made it onto my blog. There are lots of articles there for readers who want to delve a little deeper into early 19th century life. 

Mary Anne: Since publishing this book, how do you feel your writing has changed or matured?

Penny Hampson: Writing stories set in the Regency has got a little bit easier; I’ve now got a solid background of research that I can use without having to resort to looking things up all the time. I’m learning all the time about how to convey moods and settings without having to spell everything out.

Mary Anne: What achievement since 2021 are you most proud of in your writing career so far?

Penny Hampson: I’m really proud that my Gentleman Series has been enjoyed by so many readers; readers who have taken the trouble to contact me or who have written reviews on Amazon. It’s a real thrill knowing that something I’ve created brings joy to somebody else. I’ve also given talks about my books and my writing career; having had no previous experience of public speaking this was quite daunting for me at first, so I’m delighted to have been given the opportunity to acquire skills in this area. Writing is such a solitary profession that it is great to meet and chat with people who share the same interests.

Mary Anne: If you were rewriting A Gentleman’s Promise today, is there anything you would approach differently?

Penny Hampson: I think it might be interesting to write it from my ‘villain’s’ point of view! I think if readers knew about his backstory, they might be more sympathetic and understand why he took the actions he did. 

Mary Anne: How has reader feedback over the years influenced the way you write now?

Penny Hampson: Readers have told me that they enjoy the mixture of adventure and romance, so I definitely create dangerous situations for my characters to cope with while they are falling in love. Readers also mention that they enjoy meeting characters who have appeared in previous books, so as the series has progressed some characters will appear in more than one story. 

Mary Anne: What are you currently working on, and how does it reflect the writer you’ve become since this first book?

Penny Hampson: At the moment I’m working on a Regency short story which is due to be published in an anthology in late 2026. I’ve written a few short stories (not all Regencies or romances) and I enjoy the challenge of creating a satisfying tale in far fewer words than a full length novel. I’m also about to publish my second contemporary novel, A Plethora of Phantoms. The first in my Spirited Encounters Series was The Unquiet Spirit. I’m sure you can guess that both these books have a ghostly element. This was my sneaky way of bringing some history into a contemporary story, because where do ghosts come from but the past? Like all my other books, these can be read as standalones. 

Mary Anne: Finally, what advice would you give your 2021 author self on the day A Gentleman’s Promise was published?

Penny Hampson:  I would advise my 2021 self that the publication of A Gentleman’s Promise wasn’t the end but only the beginning of creating a Regency world where readers can enjoy romance, mystery, and even some history. And that there is nothing quite like meeting enthusiastic readers who have enjoyed my books and want me to write more. 

Mary Anne: Thank you, Penny, for taking part in this interview and for sharing your reflections on A Gentleman’s Promise. It has been a pleasure revisiting the beginnings of the Gentlemen series with you.

Publication Date: 11th March 2021

Publisher: PP&M Publishing

Print Length: 322 Pages

Genre: Regency Romance

A docile wife is what he wants. A husband is the last thing she needs. Can a quest for a killer teach them that they are both wrong?

Emma Smythe and her brother arrive at Easterby Hall to discover that a handsome stranger has laid claim to their ancestral home and the family title. Have her relatives been murdered, and is her brother next? Determined to find the answers, she has no option but to trust the gentleman who insists that he will help. But danger appears in many guises, and for a woman intent on remaining single, her intriguing protector may prove the biggest threat of all.

The attempts on Richard Lacey’s life begin when he inherits a title and a rundown estate. A coincidence? He’s not so sure. Problems multiply with the unexpected arrival of Jamie and Emma Smythe. Long thought dead, they too are potential targets. Richard thinks he wants a docile, obedient wife, but will the task of keeping headstrong Emma safe from danger change his mind?

Embroiled in a sinister mystery, can Richard and Emma work together to catch a killer? And will this dangerous quest teach them that what they both wish to avoid is exactly what they need?

Filled with intrigue, unexpected twists, and faultless period detail, this slow-burn romance is a must-read for lovers of classic Regency fiction.

 

Pick up your copy of

A Gentleman’s Promise

HERE

Read with #KindleUnlimited

Penny Hampson

Penny Hampson writes mysteries, and because she has a passion for history, you’ll find her stories also reflect that. A Gentleman’s Promise, a traditional Regency romance, was Penny’s debut novel and the first of her Gentlemen Series. There are now three novels in the series, with the fourth, An Adventurer’s Contract, due to be released by the end of 2024. 

Penny lives with her family in Oxfordshire, and when she is not writing, she enjoys reading, walking, swimming, and the odd gin and tonic (not all at the same time).

Connect with Penny:
Blog
Twitter
Facebook 
Instagram

Penny’s books are all available on Amazon: viewauthor.at/Pennysbooks

Editorial Book Review: An Echo of Ashes by Ron Allen Ames

An Echo of Ashes 
By Ron Allen Ames

 

Publication Date: 25th March 2025
Publisher: Historium Press
Page Length: 247
Genre: Historical Fiction / Biographical Fiction

An Echo of Ashes is a story lost to time, then found again in century-old letters that lay in a tattered box.

Based on actual events taken from the pages, this story tells of when the Great War and the Spanish Influenza forever altered the lives of millions, including a family of subsistence farmers who also worked the oil fields of Pennsylvania.

Ella and Almon make their home in the backcountry. Almon and his sons work in the oil fields, just as their forefathers before them. As war and influenza break out, the parents seek to shield their family from the impending perils. Earl, the eldest son, is a gifted trombone and piano player. He is captivated by Lucile Lake, a girl from a higher social status. All he has to win her heart are his music and his words as the military draft looms in the foreground. Jack, a friend as close as a brother, faces the horrors of war at the Western Front. Albert's free spirit creates chaos as he searches for direction. Arthur's patriotism leads him to the Mexican border. Young Russell must suppress his fear to save a life, while Little Clara remains protected from the distress.

World War One and the Spanish Influenza Pandemic are most often documented separately, yet they intersected in 1918. For those who endured sacrifice and loss during this time, looking forward seemed their only choice. The sharp echo of tragedy, carried through the ashes of what once was, likely dulled but never vanished from their minds. This is just one of countless family stories from such a perilous chapter in American history.

"An Echo of Ashes" is a thoughtful and quietly powerful work of historical biographical fiction, tracing a young man’s coming of age in a world increasingly shaped by industry, war, and social upheaval. Drawn from the author’s own family records and rooted in real events between 1914 and 1919, the novel carries the sense of a story recovered from memory, carefully assembled from the remnants of a vanished time. A quietly devastating and beautifully restrained novel, it allows history to unfold through the intimate details of labour, family responsibility, and the gradual narrowing of personal choice.

At the centre of the novel is Earl Ames—known within his family as Top—a protagonist drawn with restraint, subtlety, and emotional credibility. Earl is not fashioned as a hero in the traditional sense, but as a young man of conscience and patience, shaped by discipline and obligation rather than by ambition. His development is measured and organic, and it is through his inward responses to events, rather than his outward actions, that the reader comes to understand the cost of the era.

A defining element of Earl’s character is the self-reliant life he leads. He works independently on the Cambridge lease and, alongside this dangerous industrial labour, maintains a subsistence farm that provides for his family. This dual existence—oil worker and farmer—grounds the novel in the realities of rural endurance, where survival depends as much on steady hands in the field as on courage in hazardous work. Ames uses this setting not merely as background, but as a formative influence, showing how constant responsibility cultivates humility, endurance, and a strong sense of accountability.

That inner life is revealed most clearly through music. Earl’s musicianship provides a counterpoint to the severity of industrial and agricultural labour, allowing the novel to explore the tension between duty and aspiration, practicality and imagination. In these moments, Ames suggests that identity is not singular, but layered—shaped as much by what one feels as by what one must do.

The romantic thread is handled with similar restraint. Rather than offering idealised passion, the relationship unfolds through hesitation, misunderstanding, and self-doubt. Class, expectation, and fear of inadequacy are allowed to complicate affection, resulting in a portrayal that feels grounded and emotionally honest.

When the narrative turns toward war, it does so through the experiences of Jack Litzinger, a close family friend. These battlefront passages are brief and controlled, and they serve less to dominate the story than to remind the reader of the distant violence pressing steadily upon lives at home. In this way, the war becomes a presence rather than a spectacle.

Closer still to Earl’s world, the arrival of the Spanish Flu introduces a second, deadlier threat. Ames captures the atmosphere of the epidemic with quiet effectiveness: closed spaces, anxious waiting, separation, and the pervasive sense that danger may arrive unannounced. The epidemic is not sensationalised, but presented as another force of history that tests endurance and reshapes ordinary life.

The novel’s principal weakness lies in the placement of historical documentation and explanatory asides. While the research is clearly careful and sincere, the frequent bracketed notes and inserted clarifications occasionally interrupt scenes that would otherwise sustain their own momentum. Much of this material would have been better reserved for an author’s note at the conclusion of the book. Additionally, the handling of horses suggests a limited familiarity on the author’s part, and a more in-depth understanding of their behaviour and care would strengthen those passages in which they feature.

"An Echo of Ashes" is, above all, a character-led biographical historical novel. Its strength lies in the quiet authority of its protagonist, the authenticity of his working and farming life, and the measured way in which large events are allowed to shape a single human story. Despite structural interruptions, it remains a moving affirmation that even in loss and uncertainty, a life lived with kindness and purpose leaves its echo long after the final page.

Pick up your copy of

An Echo of Ashes 

HERE!

Ron Allen Ames

Ron Allen Ames is a history enthusiast who attributes his 46 years of life experience as a hands-on business co-owner, for giving him insight into human nature, a benefit when portraying the lives of others. The information he received, dating 1914 to 1919 is what prompted Ames to bring this history to light in An Echo of Ashes. Ames lives with his wife Cathy in Pennsylvania. They have two grown sons.

"I don't see myself as the author of this book, but more of a conduit relaying the information given to me about the past. The family letters, postcards, journals, newspaper articles, and photographs found in a tattered old box contain a record of a somewhat forgotten time when a great war and a pandemic simultaneously struck the world. History records major events, statistics, details of destruction, and world changes, but it often overlooks the home front and the emotional impact of such a perilous time. An Echo of Ashes is just one of many stories from this era."

Connect with Ron Allen Ames:

Website

Instagram

Sunwise (The Newcastle Witch Trials Trilogy, Book 2) by Helen Steadman

 

Sunwise
(The Newcastle Witch Trials Trilogy, Book 2)
By Helen Steadman

Publication Date: 11th April 2022

Publisher: Bell Jar Books

Page Length: 252

Genre: Historical Fiction / Horror

Sunwise tells the story of one woman’s struggle for survival in a hostile and superstitious world.

England, 1650. When Jane’s lover, Tom, returns from the navy to find her unhappily married to his betrayer, Jane is caught in an impossible situation.

Still reeling from the loss of her mother at the hands of the Scottish witchfinder, Jane has no choice but to continue her dangerous work as a healer while keeping her young daughter safe.

But as Tom searches for a way for him and Jane to be together, the witchfinder is still at large. Filled with vengeance, John Sharpe will stop at nothing in his quest to rid Scotland and England of the scourge of witchcraft.

The Newcastle Witch Trials trilogy was inspired by a little-known English witch hunt, where fifteen women and one man were hanged for witchcraft on a single day in August 1650.

Praise

In a harrowing addition to the series, “Sunwise (The Newcastle Witch Trials Trilogy, Book 2)” by Helen Steadman is a chilling but unforgettable novel. Drenched in the implications of evil and the horrifying power that men had over women during this period, this is a novel that will stay in your mind for a long time after reading, and not only because of the dark and unsettling scenes. The societal undertones of this novel lend a lot to consideration for how power can so easily be abused, and the use of religion in John’s crusade is almost sardonic in its connotations of the fight between good and evil.

Yarde Book Promotions

Pick up your copy of

Sunwise
(The Newcastle Witch Trials Trilogy, Book 2)

HERE

Read with #KindleUnlimited

Helen Steadman

Helen Steadman mostly writes biographical historical fiction (think herbs, healing, witch trials, swords, shipwrecks and lighthouses) set in the north east of England. So far, she’s written the Newcastle Witch Trials trilogy (Widdershins, Sunwise and Solstice), The Running Wolf (about the Shotley Bridge swordmakers) and Grace (about Grace Darling, the heroic lighthouse keeper’s daughter).

And then — because why not — there’s God of Fire set on Mount Olympus, which is absolutely nowhere near the north east of England. A sequel featuring Aphrodite is planned. Probably. At some point. (Helen is a slow writer. Deadlines tend to pass her by.)

Connect with Helen Steadman:

Website

Instagram

Therein Lies the Pearl by Catherine Hughes

Therein Lies the Pearl

By Catherine Hughes

Publication Date: January 19th, 2026

Publisher: Historium Press

Pages: 474

Genre: Historical Fiction

History books record the experiences of the powerful, the rich, the famous. Their voices dominate the pages, commanding us to accept their perspective as truth. But what if we could hear the whispers of those who were never given a chance to speak? How would this affect our understanding of the past?

Normandy, 1064

Celia Campion, a girl of humble background, finds herself caught in a web of intrigue when Duke William commands her to work as his spy, holding her younger sister hostage. Her mission: to sail across the sea to Wilton Abbey and convince Margaret, daughter of Edward the Exile, to take final vows rather than form a marriage alliance with the newly crowned king to the North, Malcolm III of Scotland. Preventing a union between the Saxons and Scots is critical to the success of the Duke’s plan to take England, and more importantly for Celia, it is the only way to keep her sister alive.  

In this sweeping epic that spans the years before and after the Conquest, two women from opposite sides of the English Channel whisper across the chasm of time to tell their story of the tumultuous days that eventually changed the course of history.  As they struggle to survive in a world marked by danger, loss, and betrayal, their lives intersect, and they soon come to realize they are both searching for the same thing--someone they can trust amidst the treachery that surrounds them.  

Together, their voices form a narrative never before told.

Excerpt

Her voice lifted in confusion. “Father?”

Margaret had been breathing in the musky smell of the woodlands and the flowering anemone that lined their path when she saw her father’s body, as it was positioned in the saddle, tilt further and further toward the side.

That morning the family had left the inn and began traveling toward Favreshant, following a path made fragrant by the flowers and plants newly opened for spring. The weather did much to improve Margaret’s spirits as the sun shone brightly upon them from a clear, blue-domed sky. An occasional puffy cloud floated across the heavens but never did it linger long enough to diminish the warmth that embraced her. Walking with a bemused smile upon her face, Margaret surrendered to the charms of the countryside, relishing in the way the light accentuated the many shades of green that colored the leaves, the bushes, and the flower stems. A random look toward the front of the cavalcade snapped her pleasant daydream when she noticed the rider near the head of the train—her father—was about to fall.

Abandoning her usual sauntering walk, she broke into enormous strides trying to close the gap between her father and herself. The rapid turnover of her feet upon the soil alarmed the flock of yellowhammers who had been flitting about the blossoms. To escape the disruption, they rose higher and hovered above, waiting for the

tumult to settle.

“Father!”

Her shout coincided with the loud thud of his body landing on solid ground, his head coming to rest in a patch of wildflowers.

Before Margaret reached him, she could see Gerhard was already there. He had carefully removed young Edgar from the saddle and then ran toward Edward, dropping to his knees for closer inspection.

Margaret skidded to a halt and took the same posture on the other side of her father’s fallen body. Hesitantly, she repeated again, “Father...?”

His lips parted but no sound issued forth.

After a quick glance in her direction, Gerhard moved closer to Edward, placing one hand beneath his master’s neck and bringing his own closer. “Edward! Edward, can you hear me?” Nothing. “Blink your eyes if you can hear me.” Gerhard’s voice cracked with worry, his usual composure gone. Because Gerhard had leaned so closely over her father’s head, Margaret had to slide further up toward his shoulder to be able to see whether or not her father had comprehended Gerhard’s words.

To her relief, she saw his eyelashes flutter—he understood! He was still there, he was still with them!

Gerhard continued. “Can you move your legs, my lord? Your arms? Just blink to let me know if you still have some control over your limbs.”

The words hung in the air as other people soon gathered around the group of three upon the ground. Margaret heard Edgar sniffling somewhere outside the circle and felt Harold, the priest, and his two brothers glaring down upon them from their seats. None of them had dismounted; instead, they surrounded the trio like a band of

highwaymen waiting to pounce on an unsuspecting victim. To Margaret’s dismay, her father’s eyelids did not flicker.

She studied Gerhard and watched the changing color of emotion move across his face—from confusion to concern, from fear to speculation, from suspicion to anger. When they both noticed the parting of her father’s lips, their hopes lifted. Together, she and Gerhard leaned in closer.

Her father’s eyes remained open but unfocused, and he whispered gently, more so to the air than to them. “No ... feeling ...my legs. My feet... cannot feel them... cannot move them... nothing there.”

Gerhard was about to respond but stopped when he saw Edward gather his breath once more. Unable to inhale deeply, he spoke in shallow exchanges. “Dizzy ... since morn...could not get... legs...to keep hold ... of the horse... chest feels ... full... crushed.” He paused here for a lengthier break. 

Margaret could feel her eyes welling up, her lashes wet with moisture. 

“Cannot... take .... in ... air.” With his gaze still focused at some point in the far distance, he whispered in a hushed tone, “Twas... foul... play.” Silence and he moved no more.

Margaret felt tears stinging her eyes. They burned her skin as they tumbled down her face until they left small, individual droplets of water on her father’s tunic. She watched as Gerhard placed his hand over Edward’s face, his fingers gently extending to close each eyelid.

Tiny bright-blue flowers with yellow centers formed a soft, decorative pillow where his sleeping head lay. Reminded of Jesus’ promise when he created these delicate blossoms, Margaret trusted that the Blessed Virgin would watch over her father’s soul. And she also knew that her father—like the flower itself—was urging her to “forget-me-not.”

Pick up your copy of

Therein Lies the Pearl

HERE

Catherine Hughes

Award winning writer, Catherine Hughes is a first-time author who, from her earliest years, immersed herself in reading. Historical fiction is her genre of choice, and her bookshelves are stocked with selections from ancient, Medieval, and Renaissance Europe as well as those involving New England settlements and pioneer life in America. After double-majoring in English and business management on the undergraduate level, Catherine completed her Master's degree in British literature at Drew University and then entered the classroom where she has been teaching American, British, and World Literature at the high school level for the last thirty years.

Aside from teaching and reading, Catherine can often be found outdoors, drawing beauty and inspiration from the world of nature. Taking the words of Thoreau to heart, "It is the marriage of the soul with nature that makes the intellect fruitful," Catherine sets aside time every day to lace up her sneakers and run with her dog in pre-dawn or late afternoon hours on the beaches of Long Island. When her furry companion isn't busy chasing seagulls or digging up remnants of dead fish, she soaks in the tranquility of the ocean setting, freeing her mind to tap into its deepest recesses where creativity and imagination preside.

In Silence Cries the Heart, Hughes’s first book, received the Gold Medal in Romance for the Feathered Quill 2024 Book of the Year contest, the Gold Medal for Fiction in the 2024 Literary Titan competition, and the 2024 International Impact Book Award for Historical Fiction. In addition, the Historical Fiction Company gave it a five star rating and a Silver Medal in the category of Historical Fiction Romance. The book was also featured in the February 2024 Issue 31 of the Historical Times magazine and was listed as one of the Best Historical Fiction Books of 2024 by the History Bards Podcast. Therein Lies the Pearl is her second venture into the world of historical fiction.

Connect with Catherine Hughes:

Website

Facebook

Instagram

Amazon Author Page

Goodreads