Welcoming Laurence O'Bryan and his book - The Sign of the Blood ( A Dangerous Emperor Book One ) - to my blog

Today I'm welcoming Laurence O'Bryan and his book - The Sign of the Blood (A Dangerous Emperor Book One) - to my blog as part of the blog tour hosted by The Coffee Pot Book Club (founded by Mary Anne Yarde).

I'm delighted to bring you all a review, but first I will introduce the book.

The Sign of the Blood

The first Christian emperor faces ruthless enemies on his journey to power.

Cool mist settles over the legion advancing toward the Persian army. Constantine, the son of an emperor, the Roman officer leading the attack, tells his men to halt - something is wrong.

Before long, the battle rages. He frees a slave named Juliana. She is half Persian and half Roman. As they are pursued to Britannia over land and sea, he learns that she can see the future - his future.

It is 306A.D., long before Constantine the Great converted to Christianity and became the first Christian emperor.

To ensure he survives, he must eliminate his enemies. But who must die first? The priestess, Sybellina, who joined them in Rome and practices dark and seductive magic? Or the brutal legion commanders who surround his father? Or, as Juliana suspects, are those who want him dead even closer?

A gripping historical novel about Constantine’s bloody rise to power, the woman who helped him, and the real reason he supported a persecuted Christian minority, a decision which changed the world into the one we know.

Publication date: 22^nd November 2018

Publisher: Ardua 

Print Length: 469 Pages

Genre: Historical Fiction

You can purchase a copy via -

 Amazon

Praise for The Sign of the blood

"Exciting and original." - SJA Turney, author of Praetorian.

“It is an enthralling story from start to finish…” The Coffee Pot Book Club

Now for the review -

Firstly, I have to admit I do not know an awful a lot about Constantine the Great, and indeed this period of history, so I was a little apprehensive that this era would be too foreign to me. I need not have worried, for Mr O’Bryan is a competent tour guide as well as an incredibly gifted author.

Constantine is a young man who is desperate to break free from the chains that hold him back from reaching his true potential. In a politically volatile world, Constantine must find his place in it. Unlike many of his counterparts, Constantine abhors cruelty, and he cannot turn away from it when he sees it, which I think gives his character not only honour but also credibility. I thought Mr O’Bryan’s depiction of Constantine was fabulous.

One of the characters that I really adored is Juliana. Juliana’s story is incredibly moving, and also very realistic in the telling. I thought Juliana brought a great deal to this book, and I enjoyed learning about her.

This is a book that is very battle heavy which is normally not my cup of tea, but actually, the way Mr O’Bryan has written these scenes make them very cinematic in the telling. It was almost like I was watching a movie rather than reading a book.

The Sign of the Blood is a meticulously researched novel that brings back to life the ancient world. I thought it was fabulous.

Laurence O'Bryan

I spent twenty years studying Roman history and reading every book about Constantine the Great I could find. I also visited numerous sites where my Roman series is set, including in London, where I lived for ten years, Jerusalem, Rome, Trier, York, Nicomedia and Istanbul.

The first novel in the series, The Sign of The Blood, is about the rise to power of Constantine the Great, the women who helped him, and the others who wanted him dead.

The Road to The Bridge, the second novel in the series, is about the lead up to the battle of the Milvian Bridge in 312 A.D. and how Constantine the Great lured Maxentius, his rival emperor, out of Rome.

The third novel in the series, The Cursed City, is about the dedication of New Rome, later to be called Constantinople, and how Constantine fell out with his wife, Fausta, and his son Crispus, and what he had to do to survive.

To join the mailing list and receive news of these books use this link: http://bit.ly/TSOTBseries

There are five novels in the puzzle series, The Istanbul Puzzle, The Jerusalem Puzzle, The Manhattan Puzzle, The Nuremberg Puzzle and The Cairo Puzzle.

There is a story link from The Istanbul Puzzle to The Cursed City.

My books have:
* Achieved #1 ranking on Amazon,
* Been translated into 10 languages.

My roots go back to a small estate deep in the Mountains of Mourne near the Silent Valley, in County Down, Northern Ireland.

I went to school in Dublin, drank way too much, studied English and history, then business, then IT at Oxford University.

My research has taken me all over the world, from San Francisco to deep in the Muslim world. There are secrets everywhere. I enjoy writing about them. I hope you enjoy reading about them.

You can connect with Laurence O'Bryan via -

Twitter

You can learn more about the author and this book by visiting the other blogs on this tour -

I hope you will check out the book.

Till the next time.

Take care Zoe

 

 

 

Welcoming Anas Hamshari and Caroline Snodgress and their book - Anke: The Beginning - to my blog

 Today I'm welcoming Anas Hamshari and Caroline Snodgress and their book - Anke: The Beginning - to my blog as part of the blog tour hosted by The Coffee Pot Book Club (founded by Mary Anne Yarde).

I'm delighted to be able to share an excerpt with you all, but first I will introduce the book.

Anke: The Beginning

Living in the city of Mechelen, just south of once-prosperous Antwerp, in the aftermath of the Thirty Years’ War, Anke Verhaegen, an ambitious nineteen-year-old, is determined to make the most of her life.

When her brother Johan suggests crossing the Atlantic to New Netherland, Anke knows this is her destiny. Together, the two set about attempting to secure passage across the sea.
Before long, their plans are in motion, and hopes are high. Yet, with vengeful enemies, secrecy, and danger on the high sea waiting to be faced, will Anke really be able to secure a better life for herself?

Publication Date: September 16^th 2020

Publisher: Exotic Reads

Page Length: 111 eBook / 170 paperback

Genre: Historical Fiction

You can purchase a copy of the book via - 

Amazon

Now for the excerpt -

 

I basked in the commotion, drinking in the mixture of accents and languages like rich wine. Some were more familiar than others, but the less familiar, the better, in my opinion. There was something so dreary about a homogenous culture. What fun was speech or dress or industry if there was no variety? If I lived in the north, I could have stood at the ports all day long, watching the ships come in, just to hear the strange tongues and watch the way the cultures began to blend.

“See anything you like, miss?” It was a Spaniard, with a charming grin and languid posture, gesturing down at whatever it was that he was selling, having mistaken my interest for that of a customer. He had an impressive mustache, with a little slip of a beard beneath it, both of which, like the curls that fell from his hat, was a rich black, like the night sky in the depths of winter.

“Perhaps,” I replied with a teasing grin.

“Oh, believe me,” a Frenchman appeared beside his fellow merchant, slipping out of the crowd like a cat, “you don’t want to buy what he’s selling. A lady such as yourself can do better.”

“Oh, really?” I asked, turning my attention to him.

“Yes, yes, of course—with me!” He stuck his chest out as though he thought himself very important. His ruff seemed to agree with him on that matter; it was so grand it was almost aristocratic. Though, his clothes looked well-worn, fraying at the seams.

“Of course, of course. So what can you offer me?” I always enjoyed this. Even if I could not buy anything, I could always haggle, could make them work at it, and watch how they strove to overcome.

“Oh, don’t entertain her, Armand.” Another man appeared, a Flamand this time, and one that I had seen before, with watery blue eyes and hair the color of sand. He looked me up and down and shook his head. “This is the same one who was here last week. She is only teasing you.”

“Just because you failed does not mean I will do the same,” the Spaniard said.

“As if you ever had a chance,” the Frenchman—Armand, apparently—retorted.

“Surely a lady such as yourself,” the Spaniard addressed me, “could not resist such a beautiful fabric.” He fetched a bolt of silk and held it out for my appraisal.

I hummed approvingly but said nothing.

“You are looking for something a bit more striking?” He held up another piece of fabric, this one, a deep shade of pink, like watered-down wine. “Cochineal. Eh? And—” he lay a blue bit of cloth over his forearm, urging me to touch it, “Indigo, as well.”

“Very nice,” I mused.

“See? She cannot resist. She is too clever to pass on an offer such as this.”

Armand shook his head. “If she were clever, then she would know better.” He turned to me. “Summer does not last forever, you know. Why waste your time on these fabrics, when you could have furs, so warm and luxurious that you would hardly notice the season’s end?”

The Spaniard seemed as though he was going to speak, stepping forward to place himself in equal footing with Armand. They quietly shoved each other with their elbows, fighting for the more prominent position.

Anas Hamshari

Anas Hamshari is an established businessman residing in the State of Kuwait, and an author of one personal growth book and two historical fiction novels. Anas has been a lifelong writer and first began creating medieval fiction tales and short stories when he was seven years old. In June 2020, Anas formed Exotic Reads, a historical fiction self-publishing division in one of his main businesses, Exotic Flavor. Exotic Reads will be self-publishing a variety of historical fiction novels in the weeks, months, and years to come.

You can connect with Anas Hamshari via -

Twitter

Caroline Snodgress

Caroline Snodgress is a first-time author but a long-time writer and ghostwriter. As an Echols Scholar at the University of Virginia, she is planning to double major in English and History, and is thoroughly enjoying taking as many fiction writing classes as she can fit into her schedule. When not in Charlottesville, she lives with her family just outside of Richmond, reading eighteenth- and nineteenth-century literature and watching plenty of period dramas in her spare time.

You can connect with Caroline Snodgress via -

 Website: http://www.exotic-flavor.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ExoticReads

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

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/exo.reads

You can find out more about this book and the authors by visiting the other blogs on this tour -

 

I hope you check out Anas and Caroline's work.

Till the next time.

Take care Zoe

 

 

 

Welcoming Tonya Mitchell and her book - A Feigned Madness - to my blog

 Today I'm welcoming Tonya Mitchell and her book - A Feigned Madness - to my blog as part of the blog tour hosted by The Coffee Pot Book Club (founded by Mary Anne Yarde).

I am delighted to share a review with you, but first I will introduce the book.

A Feigned Madness by Tonya Mitchell

Elizabeth Cochrane has a secret.

She isn’t the madwoman with amnesia the doctors and inmates at Blackwell’s Asylum think she is.

In truth, she’s working undercover for the New York World. When the managing editor refuses to hire her because she’s a woman, Elizabeth strikes a deal: in exchange for a job, she’ll impersonate a lunatic to expose a local asylum’s abuses.

When she arrives at the asylum, Elizabeth realizes she must make a decision—is she there merely to bear witness, or to intervene on behalf of the abused inmates? Can she interfere without blowing her cover? As the superintendent of the asylum grows increasingly suspicious, Elizabeth knows her scheme—and her dream of becoming a journalist in New York—is in jeopardy.

A Feigned Madness is a meticulously researched, fictionalized account of the woman who would come to be known as daredevil reporter Nellie Bly. At a time of cutthroat journalism, when newspapers battled for readers at any cost, Bly emerged as one of the first to break through the gender barrier—a woman who would, through her daring exploits, forge a trail for women fighting for their place in the world.

Publication date: 6^th October 2020

Genre: Historical Fiction, Historical Thriller

Publisher: Cynren Press

Print Length: 392 pages

You can purchase the book via the following -

Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Feigned-Madness-Tonya-Mitchell-ebook/dp/B083752GHC

Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/Feigned-Madness-Tonya-Mitchell-ebook/dp/B083752GHC

Now for the review -

I confess I didn't know anything about journalism from this era, what alone the struggles that faced female Jouralists, so when I was offered an Advanced Readers Copy of A Feigned Madness, I jumped at the chance to read about Nellie Bly. I wasn’t quite sure what I was expecting, but what I got was a story that captured my imagination, pulled on my heart strings and saw me reading late into the night!

The story centres around Elizabeth Cochrane who refuses to take no for an answer when being considered for a job at the New York World. Elizabeth strikes a deal with the managing editor – a job in return for her going undercover impersonating a lunatic to gain entry to Blackwell Lunatic Asylum.

Elizabeth becomes Nellie Bly and sets out on the path to the asylum knowing the challenges ahead will not be easy. Without giving anything away, dear reader, let's just say Elizabeth has to dig deep and battle to ensure she not only gains entry, but remains there long enough to uncover the story she went there to expose. After all, her career at the New York World depends on the outcome!

I have to compliment Tonya Mitchell – it is clear that extensive research was undertaken to bring this story to life and make the reader feel as if they are truly there with Nellie. This story takes the reader on a roller coaster of emotions and the plight of the inmates really moved me. A Feigned Madness is well written, well researched and I would definitely recommend it.

I look forward to reading more of Tonya Mitchell's work.

Tonya Mitchell

Ever since reading Jane Eyre in high school, Tonya Mitchell has been drawn to dark stories of the gothic variety. Her influences include Mary Shelley, Edgar Allan Poe, and Bram Stoker. More contemporarily, she loves the work of Agatha Christie, Margaret Atwood, and Laura Purcell. When she landed on a story about a woman who feigned insanity in order to go undercover in an insane asylum, she knew she’d landed on something she was meant to write. Her short fiction has appeared in, among other publications, Glimmer and Other Stories and Poems, for which she won the Cinnamon Press award in fiction. She is a self-professed Anglophile and is obsessed with all things relating to the Victorian period. She is a member of the Historical Novel Society North America and resides in Cincinnati, Ohio with her husband and three wildly energetic sons. A Feigned Madness is her first novel.

You can connect with Tonya Mitchell via the following platforms -

Website: https://www.tonyamitchellauthor.com/

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

Twitter: https://twitter.com/tremmitchell

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tmitchell.2012/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/20194868.Tonya_Mitchell

I do hope you will check out Tonya Mitchell's work.

Till the next time.

Take care Zoe

 

Welcoming Tom Kane and his book - The Brittle Sea - to my blog

Today I'm welcoming Tom Kane and his book - The Brittle Sea (The Brittle Saga Trilogy book 1) - to my blog as part of the blog tour hosted by The Coffee Pot Book Club (founded by Mary Anne Yarde). 

I am pleased to share an excerpt with you all, but first I will introduce the book.

The Brittle Sea by Tom Kane

 

The Titanic disaster is the catalyst that sparks a bloody feud between two families in early 20th century America.

Magda Asparov is travelling from her home in the Ukraine to be the chosen bride of American businessman Matthew Turner III. But the ill-fated voyage of the unsinkable ship has far reaching consequences for her and her savior.

Magda has lost her memory and a new personality, Maggie, has taken hold. The Captain of her rescue ship, Richard Blackmore, has fallen for Maggie.

A mental illness, betrayal, murder, and corruption destroy Blackmore's life until all that remains is for him to seek revenge.

  

Publication Date: 19th June 2020

Publisher: TigerBites

Print Length: 295 pages

Genre: Historical Fiction

You can purchase a copy of The Brittle Sea from -

Amazon (Kindle): http://mybook.to/BrittleSea-eBook

Amazon (Paperback): http://mybook.to/BrittleSeaPaperback

Now for the excerpt -

A Death on the Street - March 15, 1931

The sidewalk on 42nd wasn’t especially crowded for an early spring Sunday in New York. The well-dressed old man walked freely between passing pedestrians, jauntily swinging his cane, the cane he told everyone he needed for the war wound he had never received. He whistled a soft tune to himself, something from a bygone part of his life, a period he hated to look back on but wouldn’t leave his memories. His life was good, and he eschewed old memories. He was more than happy at what he had achieved over the years since he had become a widower, freed from his servitude.

She made my life intolerable!

He was suddenly surprised at how much vehemence the thought of her brought to his now ordered life. Anger, he told himself, was not for him. That was all in the past.

It was then, at the very instant the old man was beginning to forgive her for making him angry, that a young woman stepped out in front of him. She was wearing a nondescript dirty and threadbare blue farmer’s bib-overall, a dirty old cap and her left arm was in a sling. He noticed, looking her up and down, familiar scuffed red shoes… those familiar scuffed red shoes. He was surprised and stopped walking, amazed at the sudden familiarity of her small, sweet face. He opened his mouth to speak, maybe even daring to be impolite and ask if she was related to… but he never had the chance to speak. The girl pulled a small pistol from the sling with her free arm and levelled it at him. Too late, he realised who she was.

“Maggie.” The words formed on her lips and she smiled, clumsily cocking, and firing the pistol, twice… three times.

The old man groaned, stumbled forward but stopped his fall with his cane, gripping it tightly with both hands. He suddenly thought of her once more, leaned forward on his cane and looked up at his assailant. “You have her eyes,” he said to her, coughing blood that spattered the young woman’s dirty clothing. He smiled at her, lost his grip on his cane, and fell forward, hitting the sidewalk heavily.

The young woman screamed, and tears welled in her frightened eyes. Before she knew it, she was pulling back on the trigger to cock the gun again, levelling it this time to her right-temple. The gun belched loudly once more.

A knot of female pedestrians, caught in the tableau of hate and death unfolding before them, screamed their hysteria as one. They watched in horror as the girl staggered left, then right and then keeled forward, dropping to the floor, but managing with a gasp to stop her face hitting the hard concrete. Her arms took the full force of the fall, but soon failed and she crumpled forward, a small sob leaving her mouth.

New York rain suddenly splattered the sidewalk, hissing across the concrete and spreading onto the pools of blood forming around both victim and assailant, the blood mixing in death where in life the family blood had become tainted and poisoned, fuelled with jealousy, hate and revenge.

The old man’s eyes met the young woman’s as they lay a few feet apart. There was no hate now. No fear. A family was reunited as death took the once living into its bosom. In a final act of contrition, New York’s rain washed the blood away and the sins of a family flowed into the gutter where they belonged.

Tom Kane

As a child, Tom Kane's family always insisted he was born in the corner of the living room, behind the TV. That strange assertion, true or false, seems to have set the tone for the rest of his life. Kane's mother inspired him to write. Doctor Who and Isaac Asimov inspired his love of science fiction. Monty Python inspired him to be silly and he continues to blame Billy Connolly for his infrequent bursts of bad language In the corner or behind the TV, what is officially known about Tom Kane's birth is that it took place in England many moons ago.

You can connect with Tom Kane via the following platforms -

Website: https://www.tom-kane-author.website/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/TigerBites

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

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

You can learn more about the book and author by visiting the other blogs on the tour -

I hope you check out Tom Kane's work and enjoy.

Till the next time.

Take care Zoe

 

 

Welcoming Marie Macpherson and her book - The Last Blast of the Trumpet (Book 3 of the Knox Trilogy) - to my blog

Today I'm welcoming Marie Macpherson and her book - The Last Blast of the Trumpet (Book Three of the Knox Trilogy) - to my blog as part of the blog tour hosted by The Coffee Pot Book Club (founded by Mary Anne Yarde). 

 I'm delighted to be able to share an excerpt with you all, but first I will introduce the book.

 The Last Blast of the Trumpet by Marie MacPherson

 Conflict, Chaos and Corruption in Reformation Scotland.

He wants to reform Scotland, but his enemies will stop at nothing to prevent him.

Scotland 1559: Fiery reformer John Knox returns to a Scotland on the brink of civil war. Victorious, he feels confident of his place leading the reform until the charismatic young widow, Mary Queen of Scots returns to claim her throne. She challenges his position and initiates a ferocious battle of wills as they strive to win the hearts and minds of the Scots. But the treachery and jealousy that surrounds them both as they make critical choices in their public and private lives has dangerous consequences that neither of them can imagine.

In this final instalment of the trilogy of the fiery reformer John Knox, Macpherson tells the story of a man and a queen at one of the most critical phases of Scottish history.

Publication Date: 24 August 2020

Publisher: Penmore Press

Series: The Knox Trilogy

Print Length: 409 Pages

Genre: Historical Fiction / Biographical Fiction

You can purchase a copy from the following places -

Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Last-Blast-Trumpet-John-Trilogy-ebook/dp/B08GN9SGNB

Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/Last-Blast-Trumpet-John-Trilogy-ebook/dp/B08GN9SGNB

Barnes and Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-last-blast-of-the-trumpet-marie-macpherson/1137539926

 Praise for Marie MacPherson and The Last Blast of the Trumpet -

"Macpherson has done for Knox what Hilary Mantel did for Cromwell.’

Scottish Field

‘This richly realized portrait of a complex man in extraordinary times is historical fiction at its finest.’

Linda Porter, author of Crown of Thistles; Katherine the Queen, Royal Renegades; Mistresses: Sex and Scandal at the Court of Charles II

‘Marie Macpherson has once again given us a cavalcade of flesh and blood characters living the early days of the Scottish Reformation in a complex tale told with economy and wit.’

S.G. MacLean, author of The Seeker Series and Alexander Seaton mysteries

Now for the excerpt -

Part 2: Chapter Six

Hail Mary!

Edinburgh, 19 August 1561

The mist swirling in from the North Sea banished the summer sunshine and smothered the city in a smoky grey pall. The morning was so dark that candles had to be lit and the damp cold filled the room with the chill of the grave. The worst haar Knox had ever seen was a bad omen. He shivered and straightened a blanket round his shoulders. Any day now Queen Mary would land on his shores and smite his tender young kirk. The reformed faith may have triumphed but it needed the Book of Discipline for Protestant principles and rites to filter down to the common folk, many of whom were still papists. This was no idle threat. Mary believed him to be the most dangerous man in all her realm, so Randolph had told him, and had vowed to banish him as soon as she set foot in Scotland. Let her try: Lord James would take his part. He’d made a solemn promise to forbid his sister to practise her idolatrous faith in any shape or form, especially the abominable mass. He would keep tryst, Knox thought, as the Hepburn motto popped into his mind.

The boom of cannons firing from the castle startled him. He threw down his quill and hurried to the window. Spectral shapes were emerging from the closes and wynds and disappearing down the High Street in the witch’s brew of sour, yellowish fog.

The door was flung open and Jamie bawled, ‘Queen Mary has come! She’s biding at the Lamb’s house in Leith.’

Knox stiffened. Jamie’s words filled him with foreboding. The dreaded day had arrived.

‘Favourable winds carried her ships more swiftly than expected,’ Jamie went on, ‘and they slunk in to harbour under cover of the haar at dawn. She’ll be coming up to Holyrood this afternoon. Folk are already gathering in their droves for the procession.’

Stepping out into the sunless, dripping wet street, Knox and Jamie scarcely could see the length of two pairs of boots. Clammy fingers of smirr tickled Knox’s beard and neck. He pulled his bonnet over his ears and drew his muffler up to his eyes, covering his nose and beard to stifle the stink of rotting fish mingling with smoke. As a gust of knifing wind frayed the edge of the fog, Knox caught a glimpse of the parade coming up the brae from Leith. To his surprise, this was no dazzling cavalcade with thoroughbred mounts and jewelled harnesses: it was almost puritan in its simplicity.

‘The English fleet rammed the royal ships,’ Jamie explained. ‘Mary’s galley was saved but her horses were lost so they had to cobble together some scruffy palfreys and ponies.’

A huge roar went up from the crowd as the queen approached, escorted by her half-brothers Robert and John with Lord James at their head.

Knox drew his black brows together. Even though she was mounted on a pitiful palfrey much too small for her and dressed in her deuil blanc, the black and white of mourning, the eighteen-year-old queen managed to retain a regal presence, much to his dismay.

‘The queen has a kind soul,’ he overheard a fishwife say.

‘Aye, she has that,’ her companion replied. ‘I heard she was moved to tears seeing the galley slaves chained to their oars and ordered the slave-master not to lash them with the whip.’

Once again Knox winced. Knowing her every word, every move would be reported, had the wily queen intended the act of kindness as a jibe at him, a former galley slave? Witnessing the folk’s jubilation pierced him to the very core. In an instant her beauty, youth and feminine charm had enchanted her people and if the lords couldn’t curb her power, he had everything to fear from her.

That evening, bonfires lit up the sky from one end of the city to the other and the streets filled with the people dancing and playing music. Knox turned away from the window. ‘Music! I’ll give them music and make them dance to my tune,’ he grunted and sent Jamie to muster as many of his most trusted brethren as he could to the manse. ‘Tonight we shall serenade the queen at Holyrood,’ he told them.

His supporters looked perplexed. ‘Why would we do that, master? We dinnae want her to feel welcome.’

‘Never fash,’ Knox said. ‘In France, the Huguenots demonstrate their defiance by chanting psalms on the streets. Let’s show our dissent by singing battle hymns of the Lord.’

Beneath the queen’s window, the chorus caterwauled psalms to the tune of badly played fiddles and rebecks. If the scraping and howling grated on his lugs, then the queen’s delicate ears must be seriously offended, Knox hoped. The window was flung open and a head poked out, no doubt a lackey sent to bawl them out, Knox thought, and braced himself to defend their sacred Protestant music.

‘Her Majesty praises your musical offering,’ a solemn-faced Lord James said, ‘and finds it perfectly agreeable. Nevertheless, weary after her long journey, she beseeches you to return another night.’

‘Well, that’s put a cork in our whistles,’ Jamie chuckled. ‘Snide bastard. We’ll no be back.’

For a moment, Lord James’s appearance rattled Knox. Had he already fallen under his sister’s spell? Leading the brethren away he muttered, ‘Our singing voices may be agreeable to Mary, but I wager the sound of my voice ringing from the pulpit on Sunday will not be so pleasing.’

Marie MacPherson 

Scottish writer Marie Macpherson grew up in Musselburgh on the site of the Battle of Pinkie and within sight of Fa’side Castle where tales and legends haunted her imagination. She left the Honest Toun to study Russian at Strathclyde University and spent a year in the former Soviet Union to research her PhD thesis on the 19th century Russian writer Mikhail Lermontov, said to be descended from the Scottish poet and seer, Thomas the Rhymer. Though travelled widely, teaching languages and literature from Madrid to Moscow, she has never lost her enthusiasm for the rich history and culture of her native Scotland.

Writing historical fiction combines her academic’s love of research with a passion for storytelling. Exploring the personal relationships and often hidden motivations of historical characters drives her curiosity. 

The Knox Trilogy is a fictional biography of the fiery reformer, John Knox, set during the 16th century Scottish Reformation. Prizes and awards include the Martha Hamilton Prize for Creative Writing from Edinburgh University and Writer of the Year 2011 awarded by Tyne & Esk Writers. She is a member of the Historical Writers’ Association (HWA), the Historical Novel Society (HNS) and the Society of Authors (SoA).

You can connect with Marie MacPherson on the following platforms -

Website: https://mariemacpherson.wordpress.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Scotscriever

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

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

Publisher: https://www.penmorepress.com/project/marie-macpherson/

You can learn more about the author and the book by visiting the other blogs taking part in the tour. Details -

 I do hope that you will check out Marie MacPherson's work.

Till the next time.

Take care Zoe