Book Spotlight: Braving the Dawn: A Novel of New France by Peggy Joque Williams. Audiobook narrated by Mallory Fuccella.

 Banished from France by King Louis XIV, once royal favorite Sylvienne d'Aubert must make the dangerous ocean crossing with a group of young women eager to secure husbands in the French colony of Quebec as Filles du Roi (Daughters of the King). Sylvienne, however, scarred by an abusive, arranged marriage in France, vows never to wed again. She is determined to one day return to her beloved homeland and to her lover, Etienne.

Clinging to hope that her true love still lives, she must first survive hardships and challenges unique to the Canadian frontier and rebuild her life in a young colony that is at once welcoming and dangerous. She finds friendship in unexpected places and allies among the Native people while developing a resilience she didn't know she possessed.

 

But the king's reach is long, and Sylvienne's past haunts her at every turn in this saga of new beginnings, survival, and determination of the heart.

Praise for Braving the Dawn:

"Peggy Joque Williams captures readers with a gripping frontier saga of love, loss, and struggle-proving even the wilderness of New France isn't far enough away from the mother country to escape the long arm of the Crown."

~ Cam Torrens, bestselling author of the Tyler Zahn suspense series

  

Buy Links:

 Amazon Buy Link: https://books2read.com/u/m0RMJ0

 This title is available to read on #KindleUnlimited.

 Additional links:

 Amazon Audible: https://www.amazon.com/Braving-Dawn-Novel-New-France/dp/B0GX2W6D52/

Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/braving-the-dawn-peggy-joque-williams/1148871668?ean=9781685136987

Bookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/p/books/braving-the-dawn-a-novel-of-new-france-peggy-joque-williams/e3fb2dae0db93b35

Black Rose Writing: https://www.blackrosewriting.com/historicaladventure/p/bravingthedawn

 

Award-winning author Peggy Joque Williams writes historical fiction inspired by her love of genealogy and her deep historical research into her European, French-Canadian, and Ojibwe ancestors.

Prior to Braving the Dawn, she first penned Courting the Sun: A Novel of Versailles, a prequel following her character Sylvienne’s rise and fall at court. She has also co-authored two contemporary mystery novels: On the Road to Death’s Door and On the Road to Where the Bells Toll.

A retired elementary school teacher, Peggy has both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in education. She enjoys travel, gardening, and spending time with family. She lives Madison, Wisconsin.  

Author Links:

Website: https://peggywilliamsauthor.com/ 

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

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

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

Book Bub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/2598702672

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

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@peggyjoquewilliams

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/author/peggy_joque_williams

Goodreads: : https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4900279.Peggy_Joque_Williams

If you enjoy heartfelt historical fiction, you’ll love Crusader’s Path. An award‑winning story of faith, destiny, and redemption set during the Crusades. https://books2read.com/u/3yNPen

Book Spotlight: Fraying Skeins by Nancy Jardine

 

Escape  In Paradise  Evasion

1870 Scotland

Fleeing from Peterhead, Margaret Law makes Aberdeen her refuge. Menial jobs keep her and her toddler son fed– till an unusual tutoring task boosts her finances, and self-worth. Letters to best friend Jessie contain the absolute truth, especially when Johnny Fraser re-enters her life. Is he the man for Margaret to grow old with? When better employment emerges in St. Andrews, Margaret is torn. Will the move mean losing Johnny?

When Johnny follows Margaret to St. Andrews, their life together is idyllic. But when menacing secrets unfold, will Johnny’s past indiscretions be their undoing? Will he lose the cherished family he is establishing with Margaret?

Praise for Fraying Skeins:

"Jardine has once again brought nineteenth-century Scotland vividly to life while keeping Margaret and the people around her firmly at the heart of the story. Watching the determined little girl I first met in Novice Threads grow into this resourceful and courageous woman has been immensely rewarding, and there are more than enough intriguing threads left to make me eager to continue Margaret’s journey in the next instalment."

~ The Coffee Pot Book Club 5* Editorial Review

Buy Link:

Universal Buy Link: mybook.to/FSSSS

 This title / series is available to read on #KindleUnlimited.

 

Nancy Jardine writes historical adventure fiction, historical saga, time travel historical adventure and contemporary mysteries. Research gobbles up lots of time but it’s a delight, and never a chore. Her garden wouldn’t win any prizes but tending it is a great way to unwind and gives her some lovely plants to post on Instagram!

When not creating her novels, or promoting her writing, she loves to interact with readers at Book and Craft Fairs where she signs/sells paperback versions of her novels. Recently she’s taken part in author panels at Book Festivals.

Memberships include: Historical Novel Society; Society of Authors; Scottish Association of Writers; Federation of Writers Scotland; Romantic Novelists’ Association; and Alliance of Independent Authors. She’s self-published with Ocelot Press.

Author Links:

Website: https://www.nancyjardine.com/

Twitter / X: https://x.com/nansjar

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

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nansjar2023/

Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/nansjar23.bsky.social

Pinterest: https://uk.pinterest.com/nanjar/

Book Bub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/nancy-jardine

Threads: https://www.threads.com/@nansjar2023

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Nancy-Jardine/author/B005IDBIYG/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5139590.Nancy_Jardine

 

 If you enjoy heartfelt historical fiction, you’ll love Crusader’s Path. An award‑winning story of faith, destiny, and redemption set during the Crusades. https://books2read.com/u/3yNPen

Audiobook Spotlight: Time Enough by Lise Mayne. Narrator: Keena Herman

 

A determined mother. A loyal son. An unforgettable journey.

When Euphemia and her family leave the rugged Isle of Man in search of a better life, they carry little more than hope, determination, and an unbreakable bond with one another. Their journey takes them across continents—from the windswept shores of Britain to the forests of Ontario and the vast prairie landscapes of Saskatchewan—where every new beginning demands sacrifice.

Through hardship, heartbreak, unexpected love, and the relentless challenges of frontier life, generations of one family discover that courage is often quiet, and home is something built one day at a time.

Richly researched and inspired by true family history, Time Enough is an unforgettable historical novel celebrating resilience, tradition, and the enduring strength of ordinary people who accomplished extraordinary things.

Perfect for listeners who enjoy emotionally rich historical fiction, multigenerational family sagas, and stories that linger long after the final chapter.

Spanning continents and generations, Time Enough follows a courageous woman and her eldest son as they leave the Isle of Man behind, chasing a future across the Atlantic. From bustling Michigan to the rugged beauty of Manitoulin Island and the vast plains of Saskatchewan, they battle loss, betrayal, and the hard truths of survival in an unforgiving new world. As their past clings tight and the future demands sacrifice, one question endures: What does it take to finally feel at home?

Lise Mayne delivers a sweeping, emotionally charged novel for fans of The Nightingale, The Book of Negroes, and The Giver of Stars — a story of grit, heart, and the enduring power of family.

 

Buy Links: 

  

Universal Buy Link: https://books2read.com/u/mqxLQ6

 

Audible link: https://www.audible.ca/pd/Time-Enough-Audiobook/B0HCRMDLVC  

 

 

 

Lise Mayne (aka LG Pomerleau) writes poetry and prose from her home in Alberta, Canada.

 

Becoming Sand, 2012, presented a fictional Canadian-Francophone family’s history. Time Enough, Oprelle Publications, 2024, is the saga of a family migrating from Isle of Man to Canada, via Michigan, in the early 1900’s. Time Enough won Bronze in the Coffee Pot Book Club Book of the Year award, 2025, Historical Fiction, Westward Expansion. Lise’s award-winning poetry appears in several international literary publications.

 

Lise volunteers as a Bluebird monitor, plays the harp, and cherishes her family.

 

Author Links: 

 

Website: https://www.lisemayne.ca

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

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

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

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

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/author/timeenough

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/222241608-time-enough

  

If you enjoy heartfelt historical fiction, you’ll love Crusader’s Path. An award‑winning story of faith, destiny, and redemption set during the Crusades. https://books2read.com/u/3yNPen

Book Spotlight: VIA MALORUM II by G.G. MacLeod

 

The beginning is the end.

VIA MALORUM II: INITIUM ENIM EST FINIS

In the frozen shadows of Rome’s Appian Way, December 25th, 19 CE, a four-year-old prodigy walks among the mourners, her heart untouched by grief. Julia Agrippina, born with a mind sharper than any gladius and a soul devoid of fear, sees her father’s funeral not as an end, but a beginning. In a world of snarling mobs and scheming kin, she learns the first lessons of power: to deceive, to kill, to outmaneuver.

Guided by the cunning Sejanus and shadowed by the wild-eyed Messalina, Agrippinilla navigates a labyrinth of betrayal where every ally hides a dagger. As winter’s chill cloaks The Eternal City, whispers of poison and treachery swirl around her family’s throne. The Prophet’s warnings echo faintly, but for a child who embraces, fate is merely a game to be won.

Via Malorum II plunges deeper into Rome’s heart of vice, where ambition is a blade that cuts both ways. A chilling prequel to the visceral saga, this tale of a psychopath’s genesis blends Stoic wisdom with blood-soaked intrigue. In the war of all against all, who will rise when the snow falls red?

 

 Buy Link:

Universal Buy Link: https://books2read.com/u/bPqqN7

 

The author is a 59-year-old Canadian male based in Calgary. The author has always had a tendency of combining genres like horror and action along with drama, psychological thrillers, giallo, and sometimes even comedy.

It really depends on how the author feels from moment to moment as they write because the author likes to entertain themselves first and then hope that a smattering of other people out there in the world will like it as well.

Author Links:

Twitter / X: https://x.com/GGMacLeod1

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ggmacleod1/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@ggmacleod1

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/stores/G.-G.-MacLeod/author/B098Z2Z35R

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/22624912.G_G_MacLeod

 

 If you enjoy powerful historical fiction, you’ll love Forgiving Nero. An award‑winning novel of betrayal, survival, and redemption set in ancient Rome. https://books2read.com/u/3GOMvQ

 

Book Spotlight: The Duke and the Spirits of the Past by Michael Stolle

 

A gripping historical novel full of intrigue, dark secrets, and deadly struggles for power!

France in the 17th century – an age of conflict, love, and honour, where any means are justified in the pursuit of power. Henri de Beauvoir is a man who will stop at nothing — even making a pact with the devil — to achieve his sinister ambitions. As the ruthless cousin of the Marquis de Beauvoir and Duke of Hertford, he spins a perilous web of deception, intrigue, and betrayal to bring about his cousin’s downfall.

 A secret enemy from the past threatens to destroy the Marquis.

·        Danger lurks in the shadows — always ready to strike.

·        An unexpected love may change everything.

When the fate of the Marquis hangs in the balance, a deadly game of cat and mouse unfolds — one where every move is could prove fatal. Can Henri carry out his dark plans, or will the secrets buried in his past become his downfall?

 

Perfect for fans of Ken Follett, Rebecca Gablé, and Philippa Gregory!

·        Historical setting with atmosphere and authentic detail

·        Intrigue, betrayal, and a ruthless battle between two men over a great inheritance

·        A dark anti-hero battling his own demons

·        Suspense right through to the final page!

 Dive into a world of power, passion, and dark secrets!

Get your copy now and lose yourself in an epic historical adventure!

 

 Buy Link:

 Universal Buy Link: https://books2read.com/u/mgXQ8v

 This book is available to read on #KindleUnlimited.

Michael Stolle, award-winning and best-selling author, was born and educated in Europe. His enduring passion for history has deeply enriched his understanding of the human experience. Through his exploration, he has arrived at a powerful insight: the core essence of humanity is timeless, remaining as relevant today as it was in the 17th century.

Stolle started his writing journey in 2012, and since then, he has enthralled readers worldwide, selling over 250,000 copies of his books. His compelling narratives offer an immersive experience that breathes life into the richness of history, inviting readers to engage with the past in an intimate and vivid way.

  Author Links:

 Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.co.uk/stores/Michael-Stolle/author/B01GM0M2DY

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4319310.Michael_Stolle

 

If you enjoy powerful historical fiction, you’ll love Forgiving Nero. An award‑winning novel of betrayal, survival, and redemption set in ancient Rome. https://books2read.com/u/3GOMvQ

Book Spotlight: Marie Conner, A Leading Lady by Elle Mott

 

Marie was born a girl. That was only her first mistake, according to her father.

 

In an era when daughters and wives are not supposed to be concerned with matters outside the home, Marie is determined to prove him wrong. To do this, she must break down barriers placed on women in society, overcome difficulties that befall her, surpass hardships from the Great Depression, and then face an inevitable relocation.

 

Marie steps into her community and into the hearts of many people to give her time and help with their needs. She wants nothing in return other than her father's acceptance as a worthy woman and yet, she gains much in return, even if it is not her father's praise. This is Marie’s story—of a rise from her girlhood angsts to become a leading lady—and much more.

 

This definitive biography is the empowering true story of one trailblazing woman who, in the mid-1900s in small-town America, changed her community and beyond for the better and forevermore.

 

Universal Buy Links:  

Amazon universal paperback link: https://mybook.to/AmazonMott

Author’s Website for all links: https://ellemottauthor.com/product/marie-conner  

 

Elle Mott is a creative nonfiction author who weaves advocacy and strength into her writing, empowering readers to find their purpose.

“Marie Conner, A Leading Lady" is her third book. She is also the author of “Out of Chaos: A Memoir” and “People Helping People.” Her next book, releasing this fall, will be as a contributing co-author to “When Women Talk, Notes From the Future: What I Would Tell My Younger Self.” Her other publications have been featured in literary journals, news magazines, and anthologies.

She has a background working in libraries, both at the college level and, for more than ten years, at the public library in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio. While library work is her livelihood, writing is her passion.

Elle grew up in Oregon and now makes her home in the suburbs of northern Kentucky with two cats and several pet birds.  

Author Links: 

Website: https://ellemottauthor.com

Twitter / X: https://twitter.com/novellemott

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ellemott.author

Book Bub: https://www.bookbub.com/books/marie-conner-a-leading-lady-her-life-and-civic-leadership-in-a-bygone-era-by-elle-mott

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Elle-Mott/author/B07G4FXMSJ

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/elle_mott  

 AllAuthor: https://allauthor.com/author/ellemott

Kofi: https://ko-fi.com/ellemott

 

If you enjoy powerful historical fiction, you’ll love Forgiving Nero. An award‑winning novel of betrayal, survival, and redemption set in ancient Rome. https://books2read.com/u/3GOMvQ

Book Spotlight: One More Hour of Daylight by C.M. Gray

From the Bestselling Author of Shadowland

On the first day of World War II, a young man makes a promise—one that will shape every choice he makes for the next four years.

 

Essex. September 1939.

 

A wounded German pilot drops from a clear autumn sky into a quiet English field. Seventeen-year-old Derrick finds him—broken and feverish. Not an enemy. Just a young man asking for one small mercy before everything ends.

 

One more hour of daylight. That is all I ask. A chance to breathe free air before whatever comes next.

 

Derrick gives him until morning.

 

When the stretcher comes, the pilot’s last words strike Derrick like a blow he will never stop feeling.

 

Scotland. France. Germany. 1941–1943.

 

In the mountains of Scotland, they teach him how to kill, how to lie, and how to endure things that break most men. Then they give him a new name, put him on a plane, and drop him into the dark.

 

As an SOE operative deep inside occupied Europe, Derrick Sedgley lives on false papers, borrowed names, and nerves worn to nothing by years in the shadows. He moves agents to safety, builds escape routes, and stays one breath ahead of the Gestapo.

 

Then a mission collapses—and everything changes.

 

Forced to run, Derrick finds himself moving through the most dangerous corners of occupied Europe alongside someone whose connection to his past he cannot yet see. As safe houses fall, loyalties fracture, and the frozen passes of the Pyrenees rise ahead like the edge of the world, Derrick begins to understand something.

 

The choice he made in an Essex field on the first day of the war has been leading him here all along.

 

Some debts cannot be paid.
Some can only be carried.
And some—if you are brave enough, and fortunate enough—can finally be laid to rest.

 

From the quiet fields of Essex to the mountains of Scotland, from the dangerous streets of Lyon to the shadows of wartime Hamburg and the high passes of the Pyrenees, One More Hour of Daylight is an unforgettable story of courage, guilt and redemption—of ordinary people forced to make impossible choices in extraordinary times.

 

Some promises can survive a war.
Some people can too.

For readers who believe that even in war, what matters most is who we choose to be.

Praise for One More Hour of Daylight:

"A beautifully written book with a perfect pace that kept me reading

from start to finish."
~ Bookcollector, Amazon 5* Review

"A confident, carefully crafted novel that handles its subject matter with restraint, earning the weight it carries."
~ Indie Library, Goodreads 5* Review

 Buy Link:

 Universal Buy Link: https://books2read.com/u/bz01nG

 This title is available to read on #KindleUnlimited.

 

C.M. Gray's first book, The Flight of the Griffin, was longlisted in the 2015 Times Chicken House Writing Competition. Shadowland, the first book in the Pendragon Saga, has so far received over 900 five-star reviews on Amazon. These things still genuinely astonish him, and he is deeply grateful for every one of them.

Most of his previous work has been fantasy: either pure fantasy or historical fantasy, the kind of writing where druids turn up uninvited and one of your main characters develops an unsettling affinity with wolves before you have quite decided what sort of book you are writing. Shadowland began with every intention of staying grounded in historical reality, the story of Uther Pendragon. It did not. It has turned out to be a popular book, so he does not complain.

His years travelling through Asia, India, Africa and the Middle East have a habit of finding their way onto the page. He has seen and done some fairly strange things along the way and met some extraordinary people, and writing fantasy has always felt, to him, only a short step from writing fact.

New for 2026

One More Hour of Daylight, marks C.M. Gray's return to writing. It will be fully published in June 2026, marking a departure: pure historical fiction, no druids, no wolves. It follows Derrick Sedgley, a seventeen-year-old from Essex who makes a single moral choice in a field one September morning in 1939 and spends the next four years living with the consequences. From the Essex countryside to occupied France, from the mountains of Burgundy to the Pyrenees, it is a story about promises, betrayal, courage and the cost of doing the right thing too late.

And for those who have been waiting patiently for the Pendragon Saga to continue: the third book, Shadow's Heir, the story of Arthur Pendragon, follows in September 2026. More on that very soon.

C.M. Gray was born in England and grew up in the Essex countryside near the Suffolk border, which is where Derrick Sedgley grows up, too. The flat fields, the big skies and the particular quality of Essex light found their way into the book, whether he intended them to or not.

C.M. Gray is now very happily settled just outside Barcelona with his wonderful wife and partner in life, Adriana.

Author Links:

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B0H23SV952/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5752854.C_M_Gray

 

If you enjoy discovering new stories, you may also like The AnaRose Chronicles—a trilogy of award‑winning adventure novellas. https://books2read.com/u/4jzKAY

Book Spotlight: VIA MALORUM by G.G. MacLeod

 

In the shadows of Rome, power bleeds red.

In the shadowed streets of ancient Rome, 37 CE, power is a blade that cuts both ways. Agrippina, a towering enigma of ambition, slips from Caligula’s gilded cage with her newborn son, Domitius, her mind a labyrinth of cold calculation. At her side prowls Messalina, a siren in scarlet, her seductive cunning as deadly as her blade. Together, they navigate a city teeming with decadence and deceit, pursued by whispers of treachery and the emperor’s wrath.

Their journey leads to the Temple of Fortuna where the enigmatic Prophet Cassandra unveils a cryptic fate – one that demands sacrifice and promises blood. As alleys echo with violence and forbidden passions ignite, Agrippina’s quest for dominion collides with Messalina’s ruthless desires. In a night where every step drips with danger, who will rise and who will fall?

VIA MALORUM is a visceral plunge into the heart of Roman darkness, blending historical intrigue with the chilling allure of giallo. Prepare for a tale where power bleeds red, and trust is a luxury none can afford.

  Buy Link:

 Universal Buy Link: https://books2read.com/u/bMkq6a

 

The author is a 59-year-old Canadian male based in Calgary. The author has always had a tendency of combining genres like horror and action along with drama, psychological thrillers, giallo, and sometimes even comedy.

It really depends on how the author feels from moment to moment as they write because the author likes to entertain themselves first and then hope that a smattering of other people out there in the world will like it as well.

 Author Links:

 Twitter / X: https://x.com/GGMacLeod1

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ggmacleod1/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@ggmacleod1

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/stores/G.-G.-MacLeod/author/B098Z2Z35R

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/22624912.G_G_MacLeod

 

 If you enjoy discovering new stories, you may also like The AnaRose Chronicles—a trilogy of award‑winning adventure novellas. https://books2read.com/u/4jzKAY

Book Spotlight: Soldiers of Christ by Jon Byrne

 

In a land torn by crusade and rebellion, honour is earned in blood.

1205. Richard Fitz Simon has fled England after his title was usurped, joining the Livonian Order of Swordbrothers – a German brotherhood of warrior-monks fighting to bring the word of God to the pagan frontier. After slaying the Lithuanian champion at the Battle of Rodenpois, Richard is celebrated by the Order and their Semigallian allies.

Yet his position remains precarious. Jealous rivals question his right to stand among the brotherhood, and his master, Knight-brother Rudolf, is enraged by Richard’s disobedience. When dark secrets from Lübeck resurface, Richard also finds himself at odds with Bishop Albert, head of the Christian mission in Livonia. As he struggles to reconcile faith, duty and identity, he is drawn into a brutal world of suspicion and bloodshed.

Sent on an expedition to build a castle deep in the wilderness, Richard soon sees tensions erupt – and the path he has chosen threatens to destroy everything he has fought to become.

Buy Links:

Universal Buy Link: https://books2read.com/u/bz0eaZ

Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=uQnLEQAAQBAJ

Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/gb/en/ebook/soldiers-of-christ-1

  

Jon Byrne, originally from London, now lives with his German family by a lake in Bavaria with stunning views of the Alps. As well as writing, he works as a translator for a local IT company and occasionally as a lumberjack. He has studied the medieval world for over twenty years, building up a comprehensive personal library and a particular interest in the often-overlooked Northern Crusades.

Soldiers of Christ is Book Two of The Northern Crusader Chronicles, a gritty, historically grounded series focused on realism, moral ambiguity, and the brutal realities of medieval warfare.

Written for readers who value authenticity and atmosphere over romanticised adventure, the novel explores a largely forgotten crusading frontier, culminating in the first of many confrontations in a harsh wilderness of forest and swamp.

Readers who enjoy the historical detail of authors such as Bernard Cornwell, Conn Iggulden, or Ben Kane may find familiar ground here.

Author Links:

Website: https://www.jonbyrnewriter.com/

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

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.co.uk/stores/author/B0DJC6PL8D

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/249448581-soldiers-of-christ

  

 If you enjoy discovering new stories, you may also like The AnaRose Chronicles—a trilogy of award‑winning adventure novellas. https://books2read.com/u/4jzKAY