Book Spotlight: Whispers in the Snow by Heidi Eljarbo

Of course, a young woman in Norway during the late nineteenth century can be a successful amateur sleuth, and goodness knows, Cornelia’s days are always more exciting when she can devote her time to resolving a local mystery.

 Cornelia Gran is a dedicated daughter, friendly and kind; although, she has an exorbitant amount of curiosity. She devours Arthur Conan Doyle’s magazine articles and tries to follow the fictitious Sherlock Holmes’s investigative examples, but her fascination with solving puzzles always gets her into mischief.

 

Each morning, Cornelia reads the newspaper, looking for a conundrum to solve. Searching for clues—and then chronicling her discoveries—thrills her. She certainly finds those activities more entertaining than taking her grandmother’s advice and attending one Christmas ball after another in search of a husband.

 

But chaos and danger turn Cornelia’s quiet days upside down when her attempt to find information about the owner of a nearby abandoned cottage takes her into dangerous territory. As winter winds rattle the windows and swirl snowdrifts against the doors, she faces off with a ghost, gets in trouble with the police, and finds herself staring down danger without thinking of the consequences. In the middle of it all, she meets Simon and is captivated by his charm, good looks, and personality.

 

Meanwhile, a real killer is after her, and he won’t stop until he gets information she doesn’t have! Christmas, with all its cheery festivities, hygge, and family traditions, has never been more threatened. Cornelia must call on all her investigative skills, not only to stop the ruination of her family’s holiday, but also to make certain Simon and his aunt keep what belongs to them. And maybe, just maybe, the amateur sleuth will discover the meaning of true love.

 

Set in a fictitious town in Norway in 1891, this cozy historical mystery is perfect for those who enjoy curious and determined women sleuths, clean and wholesome romance, and the discovery of buried secrets in an abandoned house.

 

Buy Links:

 Universal Buy Link: https://books2read.com/u/47a5Lj

 This title is available on #KindleUnlimited.

 

HEIDI ELJARBO grew up in a home full of books, artwork, and happy creativity. She is the author of historical novels filled with courage, hope, mystery, adventure, and sweet romance during challenging times. She’s been named a master of dual timelines and often writes about strong-willed women of past centuries.

After living in Canada, six US states, Japan, Switzerland, and Austria, Heidi now calls Norway home. She lives with her husband on a charming island and enjoys walking in any kind of weather, hugging her grandchildren, and has a passion for art and history.

 

Her family’s chosen retreat is a mountain cabin, where they hike in the summer and ski the vast white terrain during winter.

 

Heidi’s favorites are her family, God's beautiful nature, and the word whimsical.

Author Links:

Website: https://www.heidieljarbo.com/

Twitter: https://x.com/HeidiEljarbo

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

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

Pinterest: https://no.pinterest.com/heidieljarbo/

Book Bub: https://www.bookbub.com/books/whispers-in-the-snow-a-charming-and-suspenseful-victorian-historical-romance-mystery-heartwarming-christmas-by-heidi-eljarbo

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Heidi-Eljarbo/author/B073D852VG

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/245467367-whispers-in-the-snow

Newsletter: https://www.heidieljarbo.com/newsletter

Book Spotlight: Storks in a Blue Sky by Carol Anne Dobson

 

A historical romance played out between the wild coast and moors of North Devon and the mountains and river-crossed plain of Alsace.

The beautiful, red-haired Sarah Durrant is an uneducated servant who takes the place of her mistress when she suddenly dies at Lynmouth as they are travelling across the remote wilderness of 18th century Exmoor. Her origins are a mystery. She only knows she is illegitimate and possesses a gold locket which contains a miniature of a woman who resembles her.

North Devon at first proves a sanctuary from the violence of her past but then the French aristocrat, Jean Luc de Delacroix, a soldier and a scientist, arrives from the New World; the local activities of smuggling and wrecking surface; her life becomes a tangle of love, deception and fear.

Buy Link:

 Universal Buy Link: https://books2read.com/u/312lD6

 This title is available to read on #KindleUnlimited.

  

Carol Anne Dobson is a qualified teacher and librarian with a B.A. in English, French and Russian. She has lived in Devon for most of her life, and North Devon provides the setting for much of Storks in a Blue Sky.

Alsace in France came to be a second home when her daughter lived there for six years, and it is this Germanic region of France that also features in the novel.

In 2009, Storks in a Blue Sky won the David St John Thomas Fiction Award.

Author Links:

Website: https://www.carolannedobson.info/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/carolanne.dobson.5

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.co.uk/stores/Carol-Anne-Dobson/author/B0034NYKP6

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6851252.Carol_Anne_Dobson

 

 

 

Book Spotlight: Annie’s Secret by Marcia Clayton

 

1887, North Devon, England

When Lady Eleanor Fellwood gave birth to a badly deformed baby, she insisted that the child be adopted as far away as possible. However, that proved difficult to accomplish, and so, in return for payment, Sabina Carter, an impoverished widow living locally, agreed to raise the little boy as a foundling. The child’s father, Lord Charles Fellwood of Hartford Manor, warned Sabina that the matter must be treated in the strictest confidence or her family would be evicted from their home. As far as Lady Eleanor was concerned, the child was being cared for miles away.

All was well for several years until fate took a hand and, against his parents’ wishes, Robert Fellwood, the heir to the Hartford Estate, married Sabina’s daughter, Annie. Robert arranged for his mother-in-law, Sabina, and her family to reside in the Lodge House, situated at the end of the Manor House driveway. A house that Lady Eleanor passed regularly, and it was not long before she spotted Danny’s dark curls among the Carter redheads. As she looked into the child’s eyes and noted his disabilities, she recognised her son.

Now, at seven years old, Danny has had numerous operations to correct his disabilities and is a happy, healthy child. However, his presence is a source of constant anguish for his birth mother as, day after day, she watches him play in the garden. Her husband, Charles, and son, Robert, are aghast when she announces that she wants him back! An impossible situation for all concerned, and a rift develops between Robert and Annie as he struggles to find a solution to suit everyone.

Over the years, Lady Eleanor has steadfastly refused to acknowledge her daughter-in-law, for she disapproves of Annie’s lower-class origins. When a freak accident forces the two women to spend time together, they inevitably find themselves drawn into conversation, and before long, the years of pent-up resentment and family secrets surface as home truths are aired.

Will the two women be rescued from their precarious situation unscathed? And, if so, will the family survive the scandal that is about to be unleashed?

 

 Buy Links:

 The Hartford Manor Series Links:

 Prequel - Betsey http://mybook.to/Betsey

Book 1 -The Mazzard Tree http://mybook.to/TheMazzardTree

Book 2 - The Angel Maker  http://mybook.to/TheAngelMaker

Book 3 - The Rabbit’s Foot http://mybook.to/TheRabbitsFoot

Book 4 - Millie’s Escape https://mybook.to/MilliesEscape

Book 5 - A Woman Scorned  https://mybook.to/AWomanScorned

Book 6 - Annie’s Secret https://mybook.to/AnniesSecret

 

All books in The Hartford Manor Series are available to read on #KindleUnlimited, and print copies can be ordered from any bookshop.

 

Marcia Clayton writes historical fiction with a sprinkling of romance and mystery in a heartwarming family saga that spans the Regency period through Victorian times.

As a child, Marcia often had to amuse herself as her siblings were several years older than her, and her arrival was something of a shock to her middle-aged parents. Her favourite pastimes were writing stories and reading, and she adored the Enid Blyton books, particularly The Famous Five and The Adventure Series. These books established her love of literature, which has remained with her to this day.

A farmer’s daughter, Marcia, was born in North Devon and is proud to be a Devon Maid. Over the years, she has been employed in various occupations, primarily to work around raising her three sons, Stuart, Paul, and David. She has worked in banking and nursing and, for many years, was the School Transport Manager for the local authority. Now retired, Marcia spends a lot of her time writing historical fiction but also enjoys gardening, researching her family history, and walking in the lovely Devon countryside with Bryan, her husband of fifty-three years.

Marcia has written seven books in the historical family saga, The Hartford Manor Series. You can also read her free short story, Amelia, a spin-off tale from the first book, The Mazzard Tree. Amelia, a little orphan girl of 4, is abandoned in Victorian London with her brothers, Joseph and Matthew. To find out what happens to her, download the story here: https://marciaclayton.co.uk/amelia-free-download/ 

In addition to writing books, Marcia writes blogs about a variety of subjects and a monthly newsletter, which she shares with her readers. If you would like to join Marcia’s mailing list, please subscribe to her website, The Devon Maid Book Corner: https://marciaclayton.co.uk/

Author Links:

Website:                                 https://marciaclayton.co.uk/

Twitter / X:                             https://twitter.com/MarciaC89111861

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

Instagram:                               https://www.instagram.com/marciaclayton97/         

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

Book Bub:                               https://www.bookbub.com/authors/marcia-clayton 

Amazon Author Page:            http://viewauthor.at/MarciaClayton

Goodreads:                 https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/20429025.Marcia_Clayton

 

 

Book Spotlight: Ravenscourt by Samantha Ward-Smith

 

He wanted to be gone from the dark enclosing room, with its mocking misery, to be gone from this house of nightmares, of shattered dreams, and discovered secrets which could not be put back in the box.

Venice, 1880.

Alexander, Viscount Dundarran, seeks refuge from scandal amidst the fading grandeur of crumbling palazzos during the infamous Carnival in the city. There he encounters the enigmatic Lady Arabella Pembrook—a young, beautiful widow. Both are scarred by their pasts but find solace in each other and a chance at redemption.

But when duty calls Alexander back to England upon his father's death, a darker journey begins. Travelling to Ravenscourt, the decaying estate once belonging to Arabella’s late husband, Alexander must confront the house’s disturbing legacy which has echoed through the generations. Within its walls lie secrets that refuse to stay buried and will threaten everything he thought he knew. But can Alex uncover the truth in time?

Buy Link:

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

This title is available to read on #KindleUnlimited.

 

Samantha Ward-Smith is the author of Tower of Vengeance, her debut historical novel set in the Tower of London during the 13th century, and the forthcoming Ravenscourt, a Victorian Gothic tale unfolding across Venice, London, and the windswept Lancashire moors. She lived in London for over three decades, building a career in investment banking while also pursuing a PhD in English at Birkbeck.

For the past 13 years, she has volunteered at the Tower of London, an experience that provided invaluable historical insight and directly shaped her writing. Now based in Kent by the sea, Samantha continues to explore the intersections of history, place, and story, writing in the company of her two cats, Belle and Rudy.

Author Links:

Website: www.samanthawardsmithwriter.com

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

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/61567731253160/

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

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

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

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@sam.wardsmithwrites

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.co.uk/stores/Samantha-Ward-Smith/author/B0DTJ71Y58

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/54112168.Samantha_Ward_Smith

Book Spotlight: Lord Frederick’s Return by Catherine Kullmann

 

An older hero, an enigmatic heroine and a delightfully outspoken four-year-old. Throw scandal into the mix for a gripping and tender Regency love story

August 1816. Lord Frederick Danlow returns to England after spending 18 years in India. He plans to make a home for himself and his motherless, four-year-old daughter, Ruperta. Unsure where to start, he accepts an invitation to stay at Ponsonby Place, home of Colonel Jack Ponsonby who made his fortune in India, and his daughter Susannah, the mistress of the household.

Soon Frederick finds himself in need of a governess—and a wife? The more time he spends with Susannah, the more his admiration of her deepens. Is she the woman with whom he will share his life?

He is resolved to court her, but then his younger brother Henry engulfs his family in an appalling scandal that could prevent any lady from agreeing to a connection with it. Now Frederick must support his family during this ordeal.

But what of Susannah? What will she say when she hears of the scandal? Should he, dare he offer her his heart and his hand?

Buy Link:

 Universal Buy Link: https://mybook.to/Frederick

 

Catherine Kullmann was born and educated in Dublin. Following a three-year courtship conducted mostly by letter, she moved to Germany where she lived for twenty-five years before returning to Ireland. She has worked in the Irish and New Zealand public services and in the private sector. Widowed, she has three adult sons and two grandchildren.

 She has always been interested in the extended Regency period, a time when the foundations of our modern world were laid. She loves writing and is particularly interested in what happens after the first happy end—how life goes on for the protagonists and sometimes catches up with them. Her books are set against a background of the offstage, Napoleonic wars and consider in particular the situation of women trapped in a patriarchal society.

She is the author of The Murmur of Masks, Perception & Illusion, A Suggestion of Scandal, The Duke’s Regret, The Potential for Love , A Comfortable Alliance , Lady Loring’s Dilemma and The Husband Criteria.

She also blogs about historical facts and trivia related to this era. You can find out more about Catherine’s books and read the blog (My Scrap Album) at her website where you can also subscribe to her newsletter.

  Author Links:

 Website: http://www.catherinekullmann.com/

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

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

Book Bub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/catherine-kullmann

Amazon Author Page: viewauthor.at/ckullmannamazonpage

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15549457.Catherine_Kullmann

 

Book Spotlight: The Standing Stone on the Moor by Allie Cresswell

 

Yorkshire, 1845.

Folklore whispers that they used to burn witches at the standing stone on the moor. When the wind is easterly, it wails a strange lament. History declares it was placed as a marker, visible for miles—a signpost for the lost, directing them towards home.

Forced from their homeland by the potato famine, a group of itinerant Irish refugees sets up camp by the stone. They are met with suspicion by the locals, branded as ‘thieves and ne’er-do-wells.’ Only Beth Harlish takes pity on them, and finds herself instantly attracted to Ruairi, their charismatic leader.

Beth is the steward of nearby manor Tall Chimneys—a thankless task as the owners never visit. An educated young woman, Beth feels restless, like she doesn’t belong. But somehow ‘home’—the old house, the moor and the standing stone—exerts an uncanny magnetism. Thus Ruairi’s great sacrifice—deserting his beloved Irish homestead to save his family—resonates strongly with her.

Could she leave her home to be with him? Will he even ask her to?

As she struggles with her feelings, things take a sinister turn. The peaceable village is threatened by shrouded men crossing the moor at night, smuggling contraband from the coast. Worse, the exotic dancing of a sultry-eyed Irishwoman has local men in a feverish grip. Their womenfolk begin to mutter about spells and witchcraft. And burning.

The Irish refugees must move on, and quickly. Will Beth choose an itinerant life with Ruairi? Or will the power of ‘home’ be too strong?

 

Buy Links:

Universal Buy Link: https://books2read.com/u/b5P5pG

 Author’s Website: www.allie-Cresswell.com

Allie has been writing fiction since she could hold a pencil. She has a BA and an MA in English Literature, specialising in the classics of the nineteenth century.

 She has been a print-buyer, a pub landlady, a bookkeeper and the owner of a group of boutique holiday cottage but nowadays she writes full time.

 She has two grownup children, five grandchildren and two cockapoos but just one husband, Tim. They live in the remote northwest of the UK.

The Standing Stone on the Moor is her sixteenth novel.

 Author Links:

 Website: https://www.allie-cresswell.com/

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

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

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

Book Bub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/allie-cresswell

Amazon Author Page: https://amzn.to/3GAaPXw

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6457033.Allie_Cresswell

 

 

 

Book Spotlight: The Cross of Ciarán by Andrea Matthews

 

When a fifth century pagan priest is unearthed in Ireland fifteen hundred years after being entombed, archaeologist Caitlin O’Connell is convinced it’s the find of the century. The body is in perfect condition, right down to the intricate tattoos adorning the Celt’s skin. In fact, if scientific data hadn’t proved otherwise, she would swear he hadn’t been interred more than a few hours.

Eager to discover more about the mysterious Celt, Caitlin accompanies the body back to the New York museum where she’s employed, but before she has time to study him, the priest disappears without a trace.

Rumors surrounding the event begin to circulate and result in the excavation’s benefactor pulling the plug on the entire expedition. The rumors are not far off the mark though.

After being buried alive for betraying his goddess and his priesthood in the dawning age of Christianity, Ciarán wakes to a strange new world. Alone and frightened in an unforgiving city, he stumbles upon the only thing familiar to him and seeks sanctuary within the church walls. With the help of the parish’s pastor, Father Mike, Ciarán slowly grows accustomed to his surroundings, though he’s plagued by dark dreams and the disturbing sensation that an evil from his past has followed him into the future.

But a more immediate danger lurks on his doorstep. Caitlin is determined to get to the bottom of the mystery concerning her missing Celt, and when she meets her Uncle Mike’s new handyman, Ciarán Donnelly, she’s convinced the handsome Irishman knows more about the theft than he’s letting on.

Yet, even she can’t deny the attraction between them, simmering below the surface and blurring the lines between her personal and professional life.

But will Ciarán’s secrets draw them together or shatter their future forever.

Buy Links:

 Universal Buy Link:  https://books2read.com/u/mBl5XN

 This title is available to read on #KindleUnlimited.

 Amazon UK Series Buy Link: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B08BWRW1WC

 Amazon US Series Buy Link:  https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08BWRW1WC

 

Andrea Matthews is the pseudonym for Inez Foster, a historian and librarian who loves to read and write and search around for her roots, genealogical speaking. She has a BA in History and an MLS in Library Science, and enjoys the research almost as much as she does writing the story. In fact, many of her ideas come to her while doing casual research or digging into her family history.

She is the author of the Thunder on the Moor series set on the 16th century Anglo-Scottish Border, and the Cross of Ciaran series, where a fifteen hundred year old Celt finds himself in the twentieth century.

Andrea also writes historical mysteries under the pen name I. M. Foster. Her series A South Shore Mystery is set in the early 1900s on Long Island. She is a member of the Long Island Romance Writers, and the Historical Novel Society.

Author Links:

Website:  www.andrea-matthews.com

Twitter:   https://www.x.com/AndreaMatthewsAuthor

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

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

Threads: https://www.threads.net/andreamatthewshistoricromance

Book Bub:  https://www.bookbub.com/profile/andrea-matthews

Book Spotlight: The Rune Stone by Julia Ibbotson

 

A haunting time-slip mystery of runes and romance

When Dr Viv DuLac, medievalist and academic, finds a mysterious runic inscription on a Rune Stone in the graveyard of her husband’s village church, she unwittingly sets off a chain of circumstances that disturb their quiet lives in ways she never expected.

She, once again, feels the echoes of the past resonate through time and into the present. Can she unlock the secrets of the runes in the life of the 6^th century Lady Vivianne and in Viv’s own life?

Again, lives of the past and present intertwine alarmingly as Viv desperately tries to save them both, without changing the course of history.

For fans of Barbara Erskine, Pamela Hartshorne, Susanna Kearsley, Christina Courtenay.

Praise for Julia Ibbotson:

(for A Shape on the Air) “In the best Barbara Erskine tradition …I would highly recommend this novel” -Historical Novel Society

(for the series) “Julia does an incredible job of setting up the idea of time-shift so that it’s believable and makes sense” – book tour reviewer

(for The Rune Stone) “beautifully written”, “absorbing and captivating”, “fully immersive”, “wonderfully written characters”, “a skilled story teller” – Amazon reviewers

“Dr Ibbotson has created living, breathing characters that will remain in the reader’s mind long after the book is read … The characters are brought to life beautifully with perfect economy of description … fabulous!” – Melissa Morgan

“A rich and evocative time-slip novel that beautifully and satisfyingly concludes this superb trilogy. The story is woven seamlessly and skillfully between the past and the present, and the reader is drawn deeply into both worlds.  Her portrayal of the 6^th century and its way of life are authoritative, vivid and memorable.” – Kate Sullivan

 

 Buy Link:

 Universal Buy Link:  https://myBook.to/TRS

 This title is available to read on #KindleUnlimited.

 

 

Julia Ibbotson is fascinated by the medieval world and the concept of time. She is the author of historical mysteries with a frisson of romance. Her books are evocative of time and place, well-researched and uplifting page-turners. Her current series focuses on early medieval time-slip/dual-time mysteries.

Julia read English at Keele University, England, specialising in medieval language/ literature/ history, and has a PhD in socio-linguistics.

After a turbulent time in Ghana, West Africa, she became a school teacher, then a university academic and researcher. Her break as an author came soon after she joined the RNA’s New Writers’ Scheme in 2015, with a three-book deal from Lume Books for a trilogy (Drumbeats) set in Ghana in the 1960s.

She has published five other books, including A Shape on the Air, an Anglo-Saxon timeslip mystery, and its two sequels The Dragon Tree and The Rune Stone. Her work in progress is a new series of Anglo-Saxon mystery romances, beginning with Daughter of Mercia, where echoes of the past resonate across the centuries.

Julia’s novels will appeal to fans of Barbara Erskine, Pamela Hartshorne, Susanna Kearsley, and Christina Courtenay. Her readers say: ‘Julia’s books captured my imagination’, ‘beautiful story-telling’, ‘evocative and well-paced storylines’, ‘brilliant and fascinating’ and ‘I just couldn’t put it down’.

Author Links:

Amazon Author page:  Author.to/JuliaIbbotsonauthor

Author website & blog: www.juliaibbotsonauthor.com

Facebook (author):  https://www.facebook.com/JuliaIbbotsonauthor

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/JuliaIbbotson

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/julia.ibbotson

Pinterest:  http://pinterest.com/juliai1/

Goodreads author page:  https://www.goodreads.com/juliaibbotson

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

 

 

 

Audiobook Spotlight: A Woman’s Lot, The Second Meonbridge Chronicle by Carolyn Hughes and Narrated by Alex Lee

 

How can mere women resist the misogyny of men?

1352. In Meonbridge, a resentful peasant rages against Eleanor Titherige’s efforts to build up her flock of sheep. Susanna Miller’s husband, grown melancholy and ill-tempered, succumbs to idle gossip that his wife’s a scold. Agnes Sawyer’s yearning to be a craftsman is met with scorn. And the village priest, fearful of what he considers women’s “unnatural” ambitions, is determined to keep them firmly in their place.

Many men hold fast to the teachings of the Church and fear the havoc the “daughters of Eve” might wreak if they’re allowed to usurp men’s roles and gain control over their own lives.

Not all men in Meonbridge resist the women’s desire for change – indeed, they want it for themselves. Yet it takes only one or two misogynists to unleash the hounds of hostility and hatred…

If you enjoy immersive historical fiction with a strong authentic feel, set in a time of change and challenge, especially for women, you’ll love A Woman’s Lot, the second MEONBRIDGE CHRONICLE. Find out for yourself if Meonbridge’s “unnatural” women stand up to their abusers!

Praise:

“This book exceeded all my expectations. I did not read this story. I lived it!”

~ The Coffee Pot Book Club

“A treat for all the senses…totally true to its time and setting…”

~ Being Anne

“I didn’t so much feel as if I were reading about medieval England as experiencing it first hand.”

~ Linda’s Book Bag

“An absorbing account of the times.”

~ Historical Novel Society

Buy Link:

Universal Buy Link: https://books2read.com/u/4jzKJY

This title is available to read on #KindleUnlimited.

Audiobook Links:

Audible: https://buff.ly/4gw1xs3

Audible UK: https://www.audible.co.uk/pd/A-Womans-Lot-Audiobook/B0DW4HR5HW

Audible US: https://www.audible.com/pd/A-Womans-Lot-Audiobook/B0DW4FZLCZ

***

 Listen on:

SOUNDCLOUD

Carolyn Hughes has lived much of her life in Hampshire. With a first degree in Classics and English, she started working life as a computer programmer, then a very new profession. But it was technical authoring that later proved her vocation, word-smithing for many different clients, including banks, an international hotel group and medical instruments manufacturers.

Although she wrote creatively on and off for most of her adult life, it was not until her children flew the nest that writing historical fiction took centre stage. But why historical fiction? Serendipity!

Seeking inspiration for what to write for her Creative Writing Masters, she discovered the handwritten draft, begun in her twenties, of a novel, set in 14th century rural England…

Intrigued by the period and setting, she realised that, by writing a novel set in the period, she could learn more about the medieval past and interpret it, which seemed like a thrilling thing to do. A few days later, the first Meonbridge Chronicle, Fortune’s Wheel, was under way.

Six published books later (with more to come), Carolyn does now think of herself as an Historical Novelist. And she wouldn’t have it any other way…

Author Links:

Website: https://carolynhughesauthor.com

Twitter: https://x.com/writingcalliope

Facebook: https://facebook.com/CarolynHughesAuthor

Bluesky: https://carolynhughes.bsky.social

Book Bub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/carolyn-hughes

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.co.uk/stores/Carolyn-Hughes/author/B01MG5TWH1

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/16048212.Carolyn_Hughes

 

 

Book Spotlight: The Lotus House by Ann Bennett

 

A gripping, emotional drama of love and courage set in the Philippines during WW2.

1960: Nancy Drayton, an American nurse living on Lake Sebu, is visited by a stranger who hands her some faded letters, given to her by a dying man. Reading them transports Nancy back to the terror of the war years.

1941: When Nancy’s world is blown apart by the devastating attack on Pearl Harbor, she volunteers to travel to the Philippines to serve at the front. She soon finds herself working in a field hospital on the Bataan Peninsula in the thick of the fighting, experiencing the horrors of war first hand.

When tending to some wounded men, she meets Captain Robert Lambert, and they become close. But the Japanese are closing in on Bataan, and when the US surrenders, they are driven apart.

As Robert struggles to survive the horrors of the Bataan Death March and the brutality of captivity in a prison camp, Nancy too finds herself a captive, fighting for her life. Will they survive to find one another again or will the forces of war keep them apart?

If you enjoy compelling historical fiction, you’ll love this sweeping story of love and war.

Perfect for fans of Kristen Hannah, Dinah Jeffries and Victoria Hislop.

Praise for Ann Bennett:

‘What an amazing read!!! I didn't expect this to be a roller coaster of emotions, suspense, and mystery but it was everything!!… The characters were amazing, the story will keep you wanting more and more until the end.’

~ Goodreads reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘So captivating, I was on edge while flipping through the pages as fast as I could… Truly heartwarming… Emotional, heartbreaking … I loved this… A must read… Amazing.’

~ Page Turners, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

 Buy Links:

 *Reduced to 0.99 for a limited time!*

 Universal Buy Link: https://mybook.to/lotushouse

 This title is available to read on #KindleUnlimited.

 

Ann Bennett is a British author of historical fiction. Her first book, Bamboo Heart: A Daughter's Quest, was inspired by researching her father's experience as a prisoner of war on the Thai-Burma Railway and by her own journey to uncover his story. It won the Asian Books Blog prize for fiction published in Asia in 2015, and was shortlisted for the best fiction title in the Singapore Book Awards 2016.

That initial inspiration led her to write more books about WWII in Southeast Asia – Bamboo Island: The Planter's Wife, A Daughter's Promise, Bamboo Road: The Homecoming, The Tea Planter's Club, The Amulet, and The Fortune Teller of Kathmandu. Along with The Lotus House, published in October 2024, they make up the Echoes of Empire Collection.

Ann is also the author of The Oriental Lake Collection - The Lake Pavilion and The Lake Palace, both set in British India during the 1930s and WWII, and The Lake Pagoda and The Lake Villa, set in French Indochina during the same period. A Rose in the Blitz – the first in the Sisters of War series and set in London during WWII, was published in March 2024.

The Lake Pagoda won a bronze medal for historical fiction in Asia in the Coffee Pot Book Club, Book of the Year awards 2022. The Fortune Teller of Kathmandu won a silver medal for dual-timeline historical fiction, and A Rose in the Blitz won bronze in the historical romance category in the Coffee Pot Book Club, Book of the Year awards 2024.

The Runaway Sisters, USA Today bestselling The Orphan House, The Child Without a Home and The Forgotten Children are set in Europe during the same era and are published by Bookouture. Her latest book, The Stolen Sisters, published on 29^th November 2024 is the follow-up to The Orphan List (published by Bookouture in August 2024) and is set in Poland and Germany during WWII.

A former lawyer, Ann is married with three grown up sons and a granddaughter and lives in Surrey, UK. For more details, please visit www.annbennettauthor.com.

Author Links:

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