Book Spotlight: Last Train to Freedom by Deborah Swift

 

'Taut, compelling and beautifully written – I loved it!’ ~ DAISY WOOD

'Tense and thought-provoking' ~ CATHERINE LAW

 1940. As Soviet forces storm Lithuania, Zofia and her brother Jacek must flee to survive.

 A lifeline appears when Japanese consul Sugihara offers them visas on one condition: they must deliver a parcel to Tokyo. Inside lies intelligence on Nazi atrocities, evidence so explosive that Nazi and Soviet agents will stop at nothing to possess it.

Pursued across Siberia on the Trans-Siberian Express, Zofia faces danger at every turn, racing to expose the truth as Japan edges closer to allying with the Nazis. With the fate of countless lives hanging in the balance, can she complete her mission before time runs out?

‘Such an interesting and original book…. Informative, full of suspense and thrills.’

~ Netgalley Review

 Buy Link:

 Universal Buy Link: http://mybook.to/TransSiberian

 

 

Deborah Swift is the English author of twenty historical novels, including Millennium Award winner Past Encounters, and The Poison Keeper the novel based around the life of the legendary poisoner Giulia Tofana. The Poison Keeper won the Wishing Shelf Readers Award for Book of the Decade. Recently she has completed a secret agent series set in WW2, the first in the series being The Silk Code.

Deborah used to work as a set and costume designer for theatre and TV and enjoys the research aspect of creating historical fiction, something she loved doing as a scenographer. She likes to write about extraordinary characters set against a background of real historical events. Deborah lives in England on the edge of the Lake District, an area made famous by the Romantic Poets such as Wordsworth and Coleridge.

 Author Links:

 Website: www.deborahswift.com

Twitter https://twitter.com/swiftstory

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

Pinterest https://www.pinterest.co.uk/deborahswift1/

Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/deborahswift.bsky.social

Book Bub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/deborah-swift

Amazon Author Page: http://author.to/DeborahSwift

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

 

 

 

Book Spotlight: Operation Tulip by Deborah Swift

 

Holland, 1944: Undercover British agent Nancy Callaghan has been given her toughest case yet. A key member of the Dutch resistance has been captured, and Nancy must play the role of a wealthy Nazi to win over a notorious SS officer, Detlef Keller, and gain crucial information.

 

England: Coding expert Tom Lockwood is devastated that the Allies have failed to push back the Nazis, leaving Northern Holland completely cut off from the rest of Europe, and him from his beloved Nancy. Desperate to rescue the love of his life, Tom devises Operation Tulip, a plan to bring Nancy home.

 

But as Nancy infiltrates the Dutch SS, she finds herself catching the eye of an even more senior member of the Party. Is Nancy in too deep, or can Tom reach her before she gets caught?

 

Inspired by the true events of occupied Holland during WW2, don't miss this utterly gripping story of love, bravery and sacrifice.

 

Praise for Deborah Swift:

'A well crafted tale… this book did not disappoint' NetGalley reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

'There is action, mystery and romantic entanglements stirred into the story for a fantastically entertaining read' NetGalley reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

 

'Deborah Swift never disappoints' NetGalley reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

 

'A joy to read' NetGalley reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

 

 Buy Links:

 Universal Buy Link: http://mybook.to/Tulip

 Buy Link for bookstores:

https://harpercollins.co.uk/products/operation-tulip-ww2-secret-agent-series-deborah-swift

 

 

Deborah Swift is a USA TODAY bestselling author of twenty books who is passionate about the past. Deborah used to be a costume designer for the BBC, before becoming a writer. Now she lives in an old English school house in a village full of 17th Century houses, near the glorious Lake District. After taking a Masters Degree in Creative Writing, she enjoys mentoring aspiring novelists and has an award-winning historical fiction blog at her website www.deborahswift.com.

Deborah loves to write about how extraordinary events in history have transformed the lives of ordinary people, and how the events of the past can live on in her books and still resonate today.

Recent books include The Poison Keeper, about the Renaissance poisoner Giulia Tofana, which was a winner of the Wishing Shelf Book of the Decade Award, and a Coffee Pot Book Club Gold Medal. Her most recent books are The Silk Code and The Shadow Network both set in the Second World War.

Author Links:

Twitter https://twitter.com/swiftstory

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

Website www.deborahswift.com

Pinterest https://www.pinterest.co.uk/deborahswift1/

Bookbub https://www.bookbub.com/authors/deborah-swift

Amazon http://author.to/DeborahSwift

 

 

 

Book spotlight: The Shadow Network by Deborah Swift

 

Follow the tour HERE

One woman must sacrifice everything to uncover the truth in this enthralling historical novel, inspired by the true World War Two campaign Radio Aspidistra…

England, 1942: Having fled Germany after her father was captured by the Nazis, Lilli Bergen is desperate to do something pro-active for the Allies. So when she’s approached by the Political Warfare Executive, Lilli jumps at the chance. She’s recruited as a singer for a radio station broadcasting propaganda to German soldiers – a shadow network.

But Lilli’s world is flipped upside down when her ex-boyfriend, Bren Murphy, appears at her workplace; the very man she thinks betrayed her father to the Nazis. Lilli always thought Bren was a Nazi sympathiser – so what is he doing in England supposedly working against the Germans?

Lilli knows Bren is up to something, and must put aside a blossoming new relationship in order to discover the truth. Can Lilli expose him, before it’s too late?

Set in the fascinating world of wartime radio, don’t miss The Shadow Network, a heart-stopping novel of betrayal, treachery, and courage against the odds.

 

Buy Links:

Universal Buy Link: mybook.to/RadioLies

 Link to bookshop: 

https://harpercollins.co.uk/products/the-shadonetwork-ww2-secret-agent-series-deborah-swift

 

Deborah Swift is the English author of eighteen historical novels, including Millennium Award winner Past Encounters, and The Lady’s Slipper, shortlisted for the Impress Prize.

Her most recent books are the Renaissance trilogy based around the life of the poisoner Giulia Tofana, The Poison Keeper and its sequels, one of which won the Coffee Pot Book Club Gold Medal. Recently she has completed a secret agent series set in WW2, the first in the series being The Silk Code.

Deborah used to work as a set and costume designer for theatre and TV and enjoys the research aspect of creating historical fiction, something she loved doing as a scenographer. She likes to write about extraordinary characters set against the background of real historical events. Deborah lives in North Lancashire on the edge of the Lake District, an area made famous by the Romantic Poets such as Wordsworth and Coleridge.

 Author Links: 

Twitter https://twitter.com/swiftstory

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

Website: www.deborahswift.com

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.co.uk/deborahswift1/

Amazon  http://author.to/DeborahSwift

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/deborah-swift

 

Spotlight on Clare Flynn, author of Sisters at War

 

1940 Liverpool. The pressures of war threaten to tear apart two sisters traumatised by their father’s murder of their mother.

With her new husband, Will, a merchant seaman, deployed on dangerous Atlantic convoy missions, Hannah needs her younger sister Judith more than ever. But when Mussolini declares war on Britain, Judith's Italian sweetheart, Paolo is imprisoned as an enemy alien, and Judith's loyalties are divided.

Each sister wants only to be with the man she loves but, as the war progresses, tensions between them boil over, and they face an impossible decision.

A heart-wrenching page-turner about the everyday bravery of ordinary people during wartime. From heavily blitzed Liverpool to the terrors of the North Atlantic and the scorched plains of Australia, Sisters at War will bring tears to your eyes and joy to your heart.

Buy Links

 Universal Link

Amazon UK   Amazon US   Amazon CA   Amazon AU   Kobo

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Fun Facts

Clare Flynn

(Stuff you may or may not know!)

When only twelve I was interviewed at school by detectives about the disappearance of a girl in my year whom I didn’t even know. She’d run away and had left a coded message. Someone told the police that I’d set up a secret society called SAUSAGES (Society Against Universal Spies And General Enforcement Services – yes, I was a fan of the Man from UNCLE!) and we had invented a secret code. Naturally, the police thought I must be the evil mastermind behind the girl’s disappearance. But her secret code was nothing like ours. Despite this, I went home convinced I was about to be arrested and confessed everything to my parents, who immediately rang the school. The girl turned up safe and sound. It seems she had made it all up for attention! After that, SAUSAGES was disbanded and my career as a secret agent bit the dust!

 

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When I was fifteen, I was cast as Juliet in Romeo and Juliet and performed it at the Royal Hippodrome Theatre Eastbourne for a week. At the time I was apparently then the youngest Juliet to appear on a public stage. 

Author own image
A publicity shot from a local newspaper

I’m extremely breakable! So far I have managed to break my right elbow, right and left wrists,  left knee and tibia, both big toes, and left ankle – all in separate incidents between the age of ten and five years ago.

 

Author own image

Me in a wheelchair being pushed by my long-suffering sister

 

At university, I was the co-founder and first chair of the Rock ’n Roll Dance Society. If I tried to repeat the moves I used to do, then I’d be back in surgery!

 

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I live by the seaside and can see the sea from my windows.

 Author own image

View from my window

Clare Flynn

Clare Flynn is the author of thirteen historical novels and a collection of short stories. A former International Marketing Director and strategic management consultant, she is now a full-time writer.

Having lived and worked in London, Paris, Brussels, Milan, and Sydney, home is now on the coast, in Sussex, England, where she can watch the sea from her windows. An avid traveler, her books are often set in exotic locations.

Clare is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, a member of The Society of Authors, ALLi, and the Romantic Novelists Association. When not writing, she loves to read, quilt, paint and play the piano.

 Connect with Clare

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Spotlight on Chrystyna Lucyk-Berger, author of Two Fatherlands (A Reschen Valley Novel Part 4)

 

It's a dangerous time to be a dissident...

1938. Northern Italy. Since saving Angelo Grimani's life 18 years earlier, Katharina is grappling with how their lives have since been entwined. Construction on the Reschen Lake reservoir begins and the Reschen Valley community is torn apart into two fronts - those who want to stay no matter what comes, and those who hold out hope that Hitler will bring Tyrol back into the fold.

Back in Bolzano, Angelo finds one fascist politician who may have the power to help Katharina and her community, but there is a group of corrupt players eager to have a piece of him. When they realise that Angelo and Katharina are joining forces, they turn to a strategy of conquering and dividing to weaken both the community and Angelo's efforts.

Meanwhile, the daughter Angelo shares with Katharina - Annamarie - has fled to Austria to pursue her acting career but the past she is running away from lands her directly into the arms of a new adversary: the Nazis. She goes as far as Berlin, and as far as Goebbels, to pursue her dreams, only to realise that Germany is darker than any place she's been before.

Angelo puts aside his prejudices and seeks alliances with old enemies; Katharina finds ingenious ways to preserve what is left of her community, and Annamarie wrests herself from the black forces of Nazism with plans to return home. But when Hitler and Mussolini present the Tyroleans with “The Option”, the residents are forced to choose between Italian and German nationhood with no guarantee that they will be able to stay in Tyrol at all!

Out of the ruins of war, will they be able to find their way back to one another and pick up the pieces?

This blockbuster finale will keep readers glued to the pages. Early readers are calling it, "...engrossing", "...enlightening" and "...both a heartbreaking and uplifting end to this incredible series!"

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Chrystyna Lucyk-Berger

Some Fun Facts

(You may or may not know!)

I look forward to my husband going on business trips because then I make a huge pot of Red Neck Cassoulet – baked beans and hot dogs—and eat it straight out of the pot.

 

The first thing I ever wanted to be (after a ballerina) was the female version of James Herriot and Grizzly Adams (all in one). I wanted to write books and be a country vet meeting ridiculously hilarious people, and I wanted to live in a mountain hut with animals as my friends. I’ve managed it all.

 

The only babies I’ve given birth to are book babies. I never had my own children but have approximately two dozen kids in my life ranging from age 5 to almost 30, including my husband’s amazing kidults and four godsons.

 I moved to Austria when I was 33 and after living in Turkey and Poland. The trip to Austria had been a pure fluke, but when I landed where I now live, I knew I would never return to America except to visit.

 

 I did my paragliding license in German and on my test flight, I was running with my head down and heard in the radio… “Right! Right! Pull right!” When I looked up, I was heading straight for a tree. There was radio silence as I took flight, having pulled right just in time. Then my instructor: “Chrystyna, trees does NOT move.”

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Buy Links

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Apple iBooks   Mondadori   Angus & Robertson

Chrystyna Lucyk-Berger

Chrystyna Lucyk-Berger is an American author living in Austria. Her focus is on historical fiction. She has been a managing editor for a magazine publishing house, has worked as an editor, and has won several awards for her travel narrative, flash fiction, and short stories. She lives with her husband in a “Grizzly Adams” hut in the Alps, just as she’d always dreamt she would when she was a child.

 Connect with Chrystyna

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