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Bradley John

Bradley John Tatnell (aka "Bradley John") is an Australian novelist whose ancestry can be traced back to the Norman Conquest in England. His forbears lived mostly in Kent, Hertfordshire and the Isle of Thanet. Some were mariners and some were even of the aristocracy. His direct ancestors arrived in Australia soon after its colonisation in the late 1700's, most of which were proud country folk. James Squire, a notable character in history, who arrived on the first fleet in 1788, was his (sixth) great grandfather.

Bradley John graduated from the Church of England Grammar School at age 16 and the Queensland University of Technology at age 19. His early life was spent mainly in the arena of law.

Bradley John has a love of all things ancient and historical, including golf, to which he plays with ye old hickory shafted clubs including the original heads from pre-1935. He also studies the ancient art of Korean sword, having attained master level. His love of language, in all its forms, now extends to the pursuit of conquering Hangul, the language of the Korean people.

Bradley John has been privately writing novels since 2003. "Ships of War — Murky Waters", his first publication, births a series of naval adventure fiction intended to span the length of the French Revolutionary Wars. This of course is the much loved genre which includes the thundering Hornblower series by C.S. Forester, the Aubrey-Maturin series by Patrick O'Brian and the popular "Master and Commander" blockbuster by Peter Weir. Owing to Bradley John's English heritage, no guesses are needed to determine which side the book's heroes will sail upon…

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Wednesday, 11 September 2024

1791 — England's cannon remain ever silent as her shipping is ruthlessly preyed upon, a detestable state of affairs, though soon to be remedied...

Ships of War — Murky Waters
By Bradley John

Publication Date: 3rd September 2024

Publisher: Historium Press

Page Length: 460 Pages

Genre: Naval Adventure Fiction

1791 — England's cannon remain ever silent as her shipping is ruthlessly preyed upon, a detestable state of affairs, though soon to be remedied...

As so it begins, a turbulent action-packed naval adventure within the murky waters preceding war, the French piracy soon to discover the grit of a lowly Lieutenant, one who has very little to lose…

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Ships of War — Murky Waters

Bradley John

Bradley John graduated from the Church of England Grammar School at age 16 and the Queensland University of Technology at age 19. His early life was spent mainly in the arena of law.

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Tuesday, 10 September 2024

Her journey toward finding the path to success is littered with stumbling blocks, some more difficult to avoid than she expected.

Esperanza's Way
(Book Two: The Seekers Series)
By Cindy Burkart Maynard

Publication Date: 13th June 2023
Publisher: Historium Press
Page Length: 279 Pages
Genre: Medieval Historical Fiction

Motivated by the memory of her mother dying in her arms, Esperanza resolves that she will one day walk the halls of the Scola Medica at Salerno and train to become a healer. Fate brought Amika, a talented herbalist, into her life and helped Esperanza take her first steps toward gaining the knowledge that would fulfill her dream. Unfortunately, a tragic accident forced Esperanza to flee Amika's home. Her journey toward finding the path to success is littered with stumbling blocks, some more difficult to avoid than she expected.

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Esperanza's Way

Cindy Burkart Maynard

Cindy's passion is to make the past come alive with award-winning historical fiction novels. Her love of history and the natural world shines through in all her work.

She is the author of three prize-winning historical novels. Her characters come to life on the page. Cindy Burkart Maynard is the author of three prize-winning historical fiction novels, co-author of two non-fiction books about the Southwest, and articles for Colorado Life, Utah Life, and Images magazines. The question: “What it would have been like to live in that place and time?” is the passion that motivates her writing.

Cindy is a lifelong student, ardently pursuing avocations including gaining a thorough knowledge of natural history, volunteering for social service organizations, and competing in athletics, including triathlons, and long-distance walking. She completed the Camino de Santiago (500 miles across Northern Spain) and Hadrian’s Wall trail across northern England.

She has been an avid and eclectic reader since her high school English teacher encouraged the students to keep a reading journal. Seeing her list grow has been a life-long source of joy. She loves historical fiction the most.

Before she started to write award-winning novels, she received her degree in Sociology and History from the University of Wisconsin - Madison.

She splits her time between Colorado and Arizona. She shares her journey with two grown sons, grandchildren, her husband, and two cats.

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Monday, 9 September 2024

What if Taylor Swift found herself penning songs about love in Elizabethan England when women were required to be chaste, obedient, and silent?

Try Before You Trust: To All Gentlewomen and Other Maids in Love
By Constance Briones

Publication Date: 10th January 2024

Publisher: Historium Press

Pages: 286 Pages

Genre: Historical Fiction

What if Taylor Swift found herself penning songs about love in Elizabethan England when women were required to be chaste, obedient, and silent?

Isabella Whitney, an ambitious and daring eighteen-year-old maidservant turned poet, sets out to do just that. Having risked reputation and virtue by allowing her passions for her employer's aristocratic nephew to get the better of her, Isabella Whitney enters the fray of the pamphlet wars, a scurrilous debate on the merits of women.

She's determined to make her mark by becoming the first woman to write a poem defending women in love, highlighting the deceptive practices of the men who woo them. Her journey to publication is fraught with challenges as she navigates through the male-dominated literary world and the harsh realities of life in sixteenth-century London for a single woman.

Loosely based on the life of Elizabethan poet Isabella Whitney, this is a compelling tale of a young woman's resilience and determination to challenge the status quo and leave her mark in a world that was not ready for her.

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Try Before You Trust: To All Gentlewomen and Other Maids in Love

Constance Briones

Constance Briones has a Master's in Woman's History, which informs her writing.

She first learned about the subject of her debut historical fiction novel, the sixteenth-century English poet Isabella Whitney, while doing research for her thesis on literacy and women in Tudor England. Isabella Whitney's gusty personality to defy the conventions of her day, both in her thinking and actions, impressed Constance enough to imagine that she would make a very engaging literary heroine.

As a writer, Constance is interested in highlighting the little-known stories of women in history. She is a contributing writer to Historical Times, an online magazine. When not writing, she lends her time as an educational docent for her town's historical society.

She contently lives in Connecticut with her husband and Maine coon sibling cats, Thor and Percy.

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Saturday, 7 September 2024

As the possible daughter of Henry VIII, the niece of Anne Boleyn and the favourite of Elizabeth I, Catherine’s life offers us a unique perspective on the reigns of Henry and his children.

Henry VIII’s True Daughter: Catherine Carey, A Tudor Life
By Wendy J. Dunn

Publication Date: 1st February 2024

Publisher: Pen and Sword History

Page Length: 246 Pages

Genre: Royal Historical Biographies

The lives of Tudor women often offer faint but fascinating footnotes on the pages of history. The life of Catherine – or Katryn as her husband would one day pen her name – Carey, the daughter of Mary Boleyn and, as the weight of evidence suggests, Henry VIII, is one of those footnotes.

As the possible daughter of Henry VIII, the niece of Anne Boleyn and the favourite of Elizabeth I, Catherine’s life offers us a unique perspective on the reigns of Henry and his children. In this book, Wendy J. Dunn takes these brief details of Catherine’s life and turns them into a rich account of a woman who deserves her story told. Following the faint trail provided of her life from her earliest years to her death in service to Queen Elizabeth, Dunn examines the evidence of Catherine’s parentage and views her world through the lens of her relationship with the royal family she served.

This book presents an important story of a woman who saw and experienced much tragedy and political turmoil during the reigns of Henry VIII, Edward VI, and Mary I – all of which prepared her to take on the vital role of one of Elizabeth I closest and most trusted women. It also prepared her to become the wife of one of Elizabeth's privy councillors – a man also trusted and relied on by the queen. Catherine served Elizabeth during the uncertain and challenging first years of her reign, a time when there was a question mark over whether she would succeed as queen regnant after the failures of England's first crowned regnant, her sister Mary.

Through immense research and placing her in the context of her period, HENRY VIII’S TRUE DAUGHTER: CATHERINE CAREY, A TUDOR LIFE draws Catherine out of the shadows of history to take her true place as the daughter of Henry VIII and shows how vital women like Catherine were to Elizabeth and the ultimate victory of her reign.

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Henry VIII’s True Daughter: Catherine Carey, A Tudor Life

Wendy J. Dunn

Wendy J. Dunn is an award-winning Australian writer fascinated by Tudor history – so much so she was not surprised to discover a family connection to the Tudors, not long after the publication of her first Anne Boleyn novel, which narrated the Anne Boleyn story through the eyes of Sir Thomas Wyatt, the elder. Her family tree reveals the intriguing fact that one of her ancestral families – possibly over three generations – had purchased land from both the Boleyn and Wyatt families to build up their own holdings. It seems very likely Wendy’s ancestors knew the Wyatts and Boleyns personally.

Wendy is married, the mother of three sons and one daughter—named after a certain Tudor queen, surprisingly, not Anne. She is also the grandmother of two amazing small boys. She gained her PhD in 2014 and loves walking in the footsteps of the historical people she gives voice to in her novels. Wendy also tutors at Swinburne University of Technology, Australia.

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Friday, 6 September 2024

I shall reveal the true story of the destruction of the temple of Artemis...

Life and Death in Ephesus: A Short Story Collection

By Finlay McQuade

Publication Date: 6th June 2023

Publisher: Historium Press

Page Length: 262 Pages

Genre: Historical Fiction / Short Stories

I shall reveal the true story of the destruction of the temple of Artemis...

For over a thousand years, Ephesus, on the Aegean coast of what is now modern Turkey, was a thriving city. It was the site of the Temple of Artemis, one of the Wonders of the Ancient World, and a destination for religious pilgrimage long before the advent of Christianity. In the first century CE, St. John and St. Paul introduced Christianity to Ephesus, where it survived its turbulent beginnings and hosted, in 431 CE, the God-defining Council of Ephesus.

Life and Death in Ephesus is a collection of stories about major events in the history of the ancient city. Characters appearing in these stories include Herostratus, first to commit a "herostratic crime"; Alexander, the warrior king; Lysimachus, his lieutenant and later his successor; Julius Caesar, Mark Antony, both conquerors of Cleopatra; Heraclitus, the philosopher who said, "You can't put your foot in the same river twice"; St. Paul, persona non grata in Ephesus; Nestorius, whose characterization of Jesus split the Eastern and Western church, and others.

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Life and Death in Ephesus

Finlay McQuade

Finlay McQuade is a retired educator. He was born in Ireland, went to high school in England, and university in the USA. He has a BA in English from Pomona College, an MA in British and American literature from Harvard, and a PhD in education from the University of Pittsburgh. He began his career as a high school English teacher, but after co-writing How to Make a Better School, he found himself in demand as a consultant to schools and school improvement projects in the USA and abroad. After retiring from Bogazici University in Istanbul, where he taught in the school of education, he lived for eight years among the ruins of Ephesus, where he wrote a series of stories about major events in the history of that ancient city.

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Thursday, 5 September 2024

Juliet Sinclair knows her family are not traitors to the crown-the difficulty is in proving it.

Regency Rumors: A Regency Mystery
(The Sinclair Society Series Book 1)
By Bethany Swafford

Publication Date: 25th June 2024

Publisher: Bethany Swafford; 1st edition

Page Length: 214 Pages

Genre: Historical Regency Fiction

Juliet Sinclair knows her family are not traitors to the crown-the difficulty is in proving it.

Driven by a desire to save the Sinclair name from disgrace, Juliet seeks assistance from her father's old friends, the Burnhams. Unfortunately, her arrival does not go as expected, and Juliet finds herself mistakenly assuming the role of lady's maid to Mrs. Burnham and her daughter Eugenia. This unintentional appointment provides her with an opportunity to gain Mrs. Burnham's confidence and to investigate the treasonous rumors against her family as she assists Eugenia with preparations for her first London Season. But a grave threat hangs over the denizens of Burnham House, and Juliet has uncovered evidence that might prevent the family from suffering her own disastrous fate... if she can reveal the truth in time.

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Regency Rumors

Bethany Swafford

For as long as she can remember, Bethany Swafford has loved reading books. That love of words extended to writing as she grew older and when it became more difficult to find a ‘clean’ book, she determined to write her own. Among her favorite authors are Jane Austen, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and Georgette Heyer.

When she doesn’t have pen to paper (or fingertips to laptop keyboard), she can generally be found with a book in hand.

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Wednesday, 4 September 2024

In 1877, twenty Irish coal miners hanged for a terrorist conspiracy that never occurred. Anywhere But Schuylkill is the story of one who escaped, Mike Doyle, a teenager trying to keep his family alive during the worst depression the nation has ever faced

Anywhere But Schuylkill
By Michael Dunn

Publication Date: 25th September 2023

Publisher: Historium Press

Page Length: 301 Pages

Genre: Historical Fiction

In 1877, twenty Irish coal miners hanged for a terrorist conspiracy that never occurred.

Anywhere But Schuylkill is the story of one who escaped, Mike Doyle, a teenager trying to keep his family alive during the worst depression the nation has ever faced. Banks and railroads are going under. Children are dying of hunger. The Reading Railroad has slashed wages and hired Pinkerton spies to infiltrate the miners’ union. And there is a sectarian war between rival gangs. But none of this compares with the threat at home.

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Anywhere But Schuylkill

Michael Dunn

Michael Dunn writes Working-Class Fiction from the Not So Gilded Age. Anywhere But Schuylkill is the first in his Great Upheaval trilogy. A lifelong union activist, he has always been drawn to stories of the past, particularly those of regular working people, struggling to make a better life for themselves and their families.

Stories most people do not know, or have forgotten, because history is written by the victors, the robber barons and plutocrats, not the workers and immigrants. Yet their stories are among the most compelling in America. They resonate today because they are the stories of our own ancestors, because their passions and desires, struggles and tragedies, were so similar to our own.

When Michael Dunn is not writing historical fiction, he teaches high school, and writes about labor history and culture.

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Tuesday, 3 September 2024

Only 0.99 on #Kindle for a Limited Time!

London Tales
By Tim Walker

Publication Date: 7th November 2023

Publisher: Independently Published

Page Length: 203 Pages

Genre: Short Stories

London Tales is a collection of eleven short stories that offer dramatic pinpricks in the rich tapestry of London’s timeline, a city with two thousand years of history. They are glimpses of imagined lives at key moments, starting with a prologue in verse from the point of view of a native Briton tribeswoman absorbing the shock of Roman invasion. The first story is a tense historical adventure set in Roman Londinium in 60 CE from the perspective of terrified legionaries and townsfolk facing the vengeful Iceni queen, Boudica, whose army burnt the fledgling city to the ground.

Further historical dramas take place in 1381 during the Peasant’s Revolt, the Great Fire of London, in 1666 and the last ice fair on the frozen Thames in 1814. These are followed by a romance set during the Blitz in 1941, then the swinging Sixties and wide-flared seventies are remembered in the life story of fictional policeman, Brian Smith. Moving on, an East End family get a fright from copycat killings that are a throwback to the 1888 Jack the Ripper murders.

There’s a series of contemporary stories that reference recent events, including the London terrorist bombings of 2005, a literary pub crawl and a daring prison break, building to the imagined death throes of London in a chilling, dystopian vision. These stories are loosely inspired by the author’s personal experiences and reflections on his time living and working in London in the 1980’s and 90’s. Adaptability, resilience, conformity and resolve are recurring themes.

London Tales evokes the city’s rich history and showcases the qualities that were needed by Londoners at various times to survive and prosper – from the base and brutal, devious and inspired, to the refined and civilized.

Thames Valley Tales

By Tim Walker

Publication Date: 23rd December 2016

Publisher: Independently Published

Page Length: 155 Pages

Genre: Short Stories

This collection of twelve contemporary short stories have been infused with references to the rich history and legends associated with the river Thames in England. Tim Walker’s stories were written during periods of convalescence over the past seven years and reflect his interests and experiences of living and working in towns along the course of England’s longest river wholly within the country. An author’s note near the end of the book explains the context and background to each story.

Some of these stories are updated versions (many with new endings) from the first edition of Thames Valley Tales, published in 2015. They are mixed with new stories to make up this collection selected for their suitability for the new audiobook.

The river Thames rises in a meadow in Gloucestershire, near Lechlade, and flows for 215 miles through nine counties, past Oxford, Reading, Henley, Marlow, Maidenhead, Windsor, Staines, Walton, Hampton Court and Kingston to London, before spilling into the North Sea. The settlements along the course of the river have witnessed many events that have shaped the country’s history and have given rise to myths and legends that dwell outside the bounds of verifiable history.

Tim’s Thames Valley Tales conjure up ghosts of the English Civil War, showcase an unlikely friendship between a pop star and an arms dealer, reveal a murder at Henley Regatta, expose a Runnymede rebellion, welcome the very modern merry Women of Windsor, find Dick Turpin’s treasure in Maidenhead Thicket, reveal a daring Colnbrook caper and cower from a tiger in Oxford.

Also included are three bonus stories from the first edition that are not included in the audiobook. So, get comfortable and enjoy your journey down this mature, meandering river.

Only 0.99 each on #Kindle for a Limited Time.

Don’t miss out on grabbing both copies HERE

London Tales and Thames Valley Tales are also available as audiobooks from Amazon Audible and Apple iTunes, narrated by actor-author Richard James.

Tim Walker

Tim Walker is an independent author based in the UK.

In November 2023 Tim published his second book of short stories, London Tales. This is a collection of eleven stories that echo London's past, reflect the present and imagine its future. London Tales is a companion volume to Thames Valley Tales, re-published as a second edition in March 2023. Also in March, Tim released his first audiobook of Thames Valley Tales, narrated and produced by actor Richard James. These stories cut across a range of genres - historical fiction, crime thriller, contemporary drama and comedy. The rationalisation of Tim's Thames stories into these two volumes marks a personally satisfying conclusion to what had been a dragging conundrum. Now it all makes sense.

His most recent novel is a thrilling dual timeline, Guardians at the Wall, published in June 2021. Inspired by a visit to Hadrian's Wall in 2020, it tells the story of a team of archaeologists who uncover artefacts that connect them to the life of a Roman centurion who had guarded the wall in second century Roman Britannia. The story of centurion Gaius Atticianus of the VI Legion is told in alternating chapters, shadowing the efforts of student archaeologist, Noah Jessop, to piece together an account of Gaius's life and struggles for his thesis. How close will Noah's assumptions be to Gaius's real fate?

Tim published three books in 2020 - Perverse (April); Arthur Rex Brittonum (June) and Charly in Space (September).

Arthur, Rex Brittonum, a re-imagining of the King Arthur story, is book five in his historical series, A Light in the Dark Ages, and follows on from 2019's Arthur Dux Bellorum. Book one in the series is Abandoned (second edition 2018), followed by Ambrosius: Last of the Romans (2017); and book three is Uther's Destiny (2018). Series book covers are designed by Canadian graphic artist, Cathy Walker. The series connects the end of Roman Britain to elements of the Arthurian legend, presenting an imagined history (inspired by early historical sources) of Britain in the early Medieval period, once called the Dark Ages.

Tim lives near Windsor - close to the River Thames - the inspiration for his first book of short stories, Thames Valley Tales (2015, revised second edition, 2023). In September 2017 he published a second book of short stories, Postcards from London (unpublished in August 2023 to make way for London Tales). These stories draw on the local history and current affairs of towns and cities along the course of the Thames where the author has lived and worked. A new collection of poems and short fiction, Perverse, was published in April 2020.

His first novel was a political thriller, Devil Gate Dawn, that received pre-publication exposure on the Kindle Scout programme in March/April 2016. It found a wide readership due to its unnerving predictions of a post-Brexit Britain beset by political turmoil under King Charles III's rule and buckling under attacks from terrorist groups and includes a chapter that anticipated life in Trump America, written a year before his election.

In early 2017 he published his first children's book, co-authored with his daughter, Cathy - The Adventures of Charly Holmes. Another adventure story was published in 2018 - Charly & The Superheroes, followed by Charly in Space (2020).

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Monday, 2 September 2024

A city of spies, bridging East and West, on the eve of a world war.

After the Flood
By Alec Marsh

Publication Date: 23rd July 2024

Publisher: Sharpe Books

Page Length: 267 Pages

Genre: Historical Fiction / Thriller

Istanbul, 1938.

A city of spies, bridging East and West, on the eve of a world war.

Cambridge historian Ernest Drabble and his wife, Charlotte, arrive in the city for their honeymoon — bringing along Drabble’s old friend and best man, journalist Percival Harris. The pair have been inseparable since their school days and time at Oxford, and, despite their disagreements, are more like brothers.

Following an unsettling encounter at the Hagia Sophia there’s a suspicious break-in at Harris’s hotel room. Then Charlotte suddenly vanishes. Harris, meanwhile, has fallen for the charms of Yasmin Yildiz - a woman who turns out to be closely connected to a high-profile Turkish nationalist politician.

Before they know it, Drabble, Harris and Charlotte are plunged into a dangerous conspiracy, one that could change the course of Turkish history and threaten to destabilise the global order at a critical moment in world affairs.

At the heart of the intrigue is a Nazi-backed bid to uncover a sacred artefact, one that has laid hidden in the remote mountains of Eastern Turkey for more than 10,000 years – Noah’s Ark.

The game's afoot.

But who can be trusted and who is telling the truth? Only by ascending the treacherous snowy heights of Mount Ararat will Drabble, Harrisand Charlotte be reunited andfind the answers they are looking for.

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After the Flood

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Alec Marsh

Alec Marsh is the author of the Drabble & Harris historical thriller series. His first book, ‘Rule Britannia’, is set against the backdrop of the Abdication Crisis in 1936 – and was described by Rebus-creator Ian Rankin as ‘a rollicking good read’. The Number One Ladies’ Detective Agency author Alexander McCall Smith noted it was ‘an immensely readable treat’. It was published in 2019 by Headline.

The second novel in the series – ‘Enemy of the Raj’ – is set in India in 1937 and was released in 2020.

The third Drabble and Harris book, 'Ghosts of the West', was published in 2021.

The fourth book in the series, 'After the Flood', was published in July 2024 by Sharpe Books, and is set in Istanbul and Turkey in 1938.

Alec was born in Essex and studied history at university before embarking on a career in journalism. Over the last 25 years he has written for most of the national newspapers as well as for the New Statesman, the Spectator and Country Life. He is a contributing editor of Spear’s magazine, and lives in north Essex.

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