Book Spotlight: Traitor’s Game, Soldier Spy Book One by Rosemary Hayes

 

'Right from page one you know you are in the hands of a talented storyteller... An exciting tale of espionage and adventure in the classic mould.'

~ R.N. Morris, author of The Gentle Axe

1808.

Captain Will Fraser has just returned from the Front in the Peninsular War. He is disgraced and penniless, the victim of a conspiracy led by a jealous and influential officer. Fraser has been falsely accused of insubordination and cowardice and dismissed from his regiment.

Fraser and Duncan Armstrong, his wounded Sergeant, arrive in London to seek out Will’s brother, Jack, who works for King George’s Government.

But Jack has disappeared. He vanished from his lodgings a week ago and no one has seen him since. Friends and colleagues are baffled by his disappearance as is the young woman, Clara, who claims to be his wife.

Then Will is viciously attacked, seemingly mistaken for his brother, and only just escapes with his life. When news of this reaches Jack’s colleagues in Government, Will is recruited to find his brother and he and Armstrong set out to follow a trail littered with half-truths and misinformation.

For their task is not quite what it seems.

Will closely resembles his brother and it becomes evident that he is being used as a decoy to flush out Jack’s enemies. These are enemies of the State, for Jack Fraser is a spy and his colleagues believe he has uncovered evidence which will lead to the identity of a French spymaster embedded in the British Government.

Will’s search leads him to France but in this murky world of espionage, nothing is straightforward.

The soldier turned spy must unmask a traitor, before it's too late.

  Buy Links:

 Universal Buy Link: https://books2read.com/u/bwwEee

This title is available to read on #KindleUnlimited.

 

Rosemary Hayes has written over fifty books for children and young adults. She writes in different genres, from edgy teenage fiction (The Mark), historical fiction (The Blue Eyed Aborigine and Forgotten Footprints), middle grade fantasy (Loose Connections, The Stonekeeper’s Child and Break Out)  to chapter books for early readers and texts for picture books. Many of her books have won or been shortlisted for awards and several have been translated into different languages.

Rosemary has travelled widely but now lives in South Cambridgeshire. She has a background in publishing, having worked for Cambridge University Press before setting up her own company Anglia Young Books which she ran for some years. She has been a reader for a well-known authors’ advisory service and runs creative writing workshops for both children and adults.

Rosemary has now turned her hand to adult fiction and her historical novel ‘The King’s Command’ is about the terror and tragedy suffered by a French Huguenot family during the reign of Louis XIV.

And Traitor’s Game, the first book in the Soldier Spy trilogy, set during the Napoleonic Wars, has recently been published.

 Author Links:

 Website: www.rosemaryhayes.co.uk

Twitter: https://twitter.com/HayesRosemary

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Rosemary-Hayes/e/B00NAPAPZC

 

Book spotlight: Georgia's Folly by Deborah Chase

 

For fans of "Antiques Roadshow" and "American Pickers" - this is the one for you!

Beginning at a cluttered flea market and ending at a glittering art auction, Georgia’s Folly tells the compelling story that blends past and present and the search for a valuable and elusive antique. Chloe Bishop grew up in foster care. She loves shopping at flea markets, picking up family heirlooms like old pottery or vintage furniture to fill in for the family and home she never had.

As Chloe walks through the Brooklyn Flea Market, she stumbles upon the diary of Miss Georgia Potter, a young woman who had lived in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania during the Civil War. The yellowed pages reveal the impact of the war on daily life and spotlights the role of women including Harriet Tubman, Clara Barton and Louisa May Alcott. 

 Like Chloe, Georgia Potter was a passionate collector and her diary lists her collection of valuable antiques—including the Holy Grail of 18th century furniture—a Chippendale settee. Well versed in antiques, Chloe is aware that there are only five known examples and a sixth settee would be worth more than $4 million.

Chloe immediately contacts Ben Thompson, the man who sold her the diary. Ben is a picker who drives his RV across America, searching for collectibles to sell to dealers. He is estranged from his wealthy, prominent family who cringe at his chosen career. Ben agrees to take her along to search for the valuable and iconic settee. As Ben and Chloe head to Gettysburg, they are unaware that Gregor Petrov, a shady antiques dealer and Harrison Kent, a respected but unscrupulous art expert are trailing them.

The search for the settee takes Chloe and Ben on fast paced journey from the Gettysburg battlefields to the 18th century street of artisans in Philadelphia to a historic mansion on the banks of the Hudson River. Traveling together in the small RV, Ben and Chloe draw closer. In the confines of the RV, embroiled in an unimaginable quest, Chloe confides that she is also in search for the father she never knew while Ben struggles to explain his complicated family to a woman who never had one.

In a thrilling ending, the rare Chippendale settee is not Chloe’s only valuable discovery.

  Buy Link: 

 Universal buy link: https://books2read.com/u/4DkY0g

 

Deborah Chase grew up in a family filled with art and antiques.  On the high end, her uncle, William Lincer, lead violist at the New York Philharmonic, was an art lover whose collection was sold at Sotheby’s. On the low end, her father, writer Allen Chase took her to flea markets and estate sales.  He sparked a lifelong fascination with tales of lost treasures that ranged from plundered Egyptian tombs to trainloads of art stolen by the Nazis.  It was this love of history and antiques that inspired her first novel, Georgia’s Folly

She was a founding editor of the Berkeley Wellness Newsletter and the author of 12 books including The Medically Based No-Nonsense Beauty Book (Alfred Knopf), Extend Your Life Diet (Pocket Books), Fruit Acids for Fabulous Skin (St Martin’s Press), Every Bride is Beautiful (Morrow), and with her husband Dr Neil Schachter co-author of Life and Breath (Doubleday) and The Good Doctor’s Guide to Colds and Flu (Harper).  The books have been a selection of the Book of the Month Club and her articles have appeared in Ladies Home Journal, Self, Glamour, Redbook, Family Circle, Parents and Good Housekeeping.

She is a graduate of Bronx High School of Science and a winner of the Westinghouse Science Talent Search. A graduate of New York University she earned a degree with a duel major in journalism and history. 

A native New Yorker, Deborah like to spend her weekends at an upstate home where a big kitchen and an endless supply of estate sales indulge her duel passions for cooking and collecting.

Author Links:

Website: Deborahchase.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/deborah.chase.5

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thewritinglife2/

AmazonAuthor Page: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Deborah-Chase/author/B0DHHK95KV

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/536062.Deborah_Chase

 

Book Spotlight and audio excerpt: The Curse of Maiden Scars by Nicolette Croft and narrated by Liz May Brice

 

A Yorkshire orphan struggling for opportunity against 18th-century odds reluctantly transforms into a Venetian courtesan during the Empire's last days.

Sixteen-year-old Renna Covert toils away in the shadows of a Yorkshire workhouse, her days filled with the mundane task of shelling cotton and the dangerous duty of scouting for punters. One fateful night, she crosses paths with two sailors and finds herself thrust into the heart of a chilling encounter at the local asylum.
 
These harrowing experiences catalyze Renna's journey, promising newfound opportunities and revealing long-buried family secrets. Yet, at every turn, powerful forces conspire to thwart her quest for truth, forcing her to abandon her scullery work and embark on a daring escape to Venice alongside her steadfast companions. 
 
In the labyrinthine alleys of Venice, Renna's fate takes yet another twist. She is ensnared by a cunning Madam who trains her as a Venetian courtesan. But beneath the veneer of luxury lies a world fraught with danger, where Renna must rely on her witts and resilience to navigate the treacherous waters of deceit and betrayal.
 
Set against the backdrop of Venice's tumultuous Napoleonic invasion of 1797, this is a tale of a girl's struggle for survival. It is a story of resilience, defiance in the face of adversity, and, ultimately, one young woman's determination to reclaim her identity. 

THE CURSE OF MAIDEN SCARS is a coming-of-age, women's fiction novel with gothic flair set in the tradition of Victoria Mas' THE MADWOMAN'S BALL, and Sarah Dunant's IN THE COMPANY OF THE COURTESAN, with the sensuality of LADY CHATTERLEY'S LOVER.

 

 Buy Links:

 Universal Ebook Buy Link: https://books2read.com/u/mgDEOq

 Audible US Buy Link: https://www.audible.com/pd/The-Curse-of-Maiden-Scars-Audiobook/B0D9R4BCHX

 Amazon US Audiobook Buy Link: https://www.amazon.com/The-Curse-of-Maiden-Scars/dp/B0D9R32NN9/

***

AUDIO EXCERPT

SOUNDCLOUD

Nicolette Croft can’t remember a time when she was not creating imaginary worlds inspired by her Hungarian and American ancestors. As a neuro-divergent learner, however, putting those stories to paper proved more challenging than imagining them. Because her determination would not allow her to settle, she pursued an English B.A. to improve her writing.

 Young motherhood also brought unexpected challenges, which motivated her to pursue graduate work in twice-exceptional learners and education. She would later add an M.A. degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling, specializing in neurodivergent people, trauma, and grief. Nicolette uses her natural gift of storytelling as an exploratory method for her clients.

 The Curse of Maiden Scars is also an outgrowth of her personal journey and marks her first publication as a novelist, having previously published short fiction. When not at her counseling practice or researching historical facts for her latest story, Nicolette shares treasured time with family, friends, and her husband. Whether writing, cooking, traveling, or learning, the act of creation is always at the center of her colorful life.

 Author Links:

 Website: https://www.nicolettecroft.com

Twitter: https://x.com/croft_nicolette

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NicoletteCroftAuthor/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolette-croft-a6744929a/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nicolettecroft22/

Threads: https://www.threads.net/@nicolettecroft22

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Nicolette-Croft/author/B0D3KPG536

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/49634836.Nicolette_Croft

 

 

 

Book Spotlight: The Immigrant Queen by Peter Taylor-Gooby

 

Hated as a foreigner, despised as a woman, she became First Lady of Athens.

Aspasia falls passionately in love with Pericles, the leading statesman of Fifth Century Athens. Artists, writers and thinkers flock to her salon. She hides her past as a sex-worker, trafficked to the city, and becomes Pericles’ lover.

Her writings attract the attention of Socrates, and she becomes the only woman to join his circle. She is known throughout the city for her beauty and wit and strives to become recognised as an intellectual alongside men.

Pericles’ enemies attack him through Aspasia and charge her with blasphemy. As a foreigner she faces execution, but her impassioned address to the jury shames the city and saves her. Pericles is spellbound, they marry, and she becomes First Lady of Athens.

Sparta besieges the city; plague breaks out and Pericles is once again in danger.

THE IMMIGRANT QUEEN tells the true story of how Aspasia rose to become the First Lady of Athens and triumphed against all the odds.

 Paperback Buy Links:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Immigrant-Queen-Peter-Taylor-Gooby/dp/1836280602/

https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-immigrant-queen/peter-taylor-gooby/9781836280606

https://troubador.co.uk/bookshop/historical/the-immigrant-queen

 

Peter Taylor-Gooby is an academic who believes that you can only truly understand the issues that matter through your feelings, your imagination and your compassion. That’s why he writes novels as well as research monographs. He worked in India as a teacher, in a Newcastle social security office and as an antique dealer.

Now he’s professor of social policy at the University of Kent, a Fellow of the British Academy, loves playing with his grandchildren and writes novels in what time is spare.

Author Links:

 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/peter.taylorgooby/  

Troubadour Author Page: https://troubador.co.uk/author/glndwnle

Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Taylor-Gooby

Amazon Author Page:  https://www.amazon.co.uk/stores/author/B001HD2YWQ