MY BROTHER'S BRIDE - COVER REVEAL & GIVEAWAY

 

Coming in November!

A New Book by A Favorite Author!

UNFORGETTABLE LOVE - G.G. VANDARGRIFF'S LOVE UNEXPECTED, A REGENCY ROMANCE + GIVEAWAY

NEW post in the event Unforgettable Love. 

Unforgettable Love is A Clean Romance Event Hosted by I Am A Reader

During the month of June we will be featuring several fabulous authors who write clean romance. There will be giveaways, free ebooks and great deals on books. Have you checked our previous posts?  And don't forget to stay tuned for the next ones! The book featured today is Love Unexpected by G.G. Vandagriff. Discover more about this Regency romance and take your chances to win in the giveaway. 

REGINA JEFFERS, COULD AN AMERICAN INHERIT AN ENGLISH TITLE? - NEW RELEASE, GUEST POST, EXCERPT

In both of my first two books from the Twins’ trilogy, the issue of whether an American could inherit a title/peerage comes into play as part of the plot. In Angel Comes to the Devil’s Keep, Angelica Lovelace’s parents had run off to America, specifically the United States, to live because they married against the wishes of their families and were disowned. As the third son, Horace Lovelace never thought to inherit, but fate (especially in the hands of a writer) has a way to make his inheritance a reality, while staying within the law of the land at that time. For Lovelace, in determining whether he could inherit a peerage in England after living in the United States for more than twenty years, we must first consider that he and his wife were both born in England. However, the question would arrive as to whether they became American citizens by denouncing their English roots or perhaps by simply living in the States and “presenting” themselves in business and socially as an “American.” Moreover, if Lovelace can inherit, what happens to his son’s rights to the earldom when the boy comes of age? What laws would affect the Lovelace’s situation when he returns to England?

A MOTIF OF SEASON BY EDWARD GLOVER - READ THE PROLOGUE & WIN A COPY

Happy holidays, everyone! Today I've got a great bookish gift for you: the chance to win a very good historical novel,  A Motif of Season by Edward Glover, and the possibility to read its catching prologue.  If you liked Birdsong or Parade's End (either the novels or theirTV adaptations)  or The Crimson Field, you'll love this book! 

The novel is part of a saga but can be read as a stand alone book. Set in the latter half of the 19th century, A Motif of Seasons tells the stories of two powerful European families – the von Deppes in Germany and theWhitfields in England – still locked in an ancient rivalry, triggered by an ancestral union. The unexpected marriage in 1766 between the beautiful, capricious and musically accomplished young Arabella Whitfield and the older Prussian military officer Count Carl Manfred von Deppe has left a legacy of distrust and prejudice.

Against the backdrop of a widening and destructive gulf between England and Germany, A Motif of Seasons follows three women – Victoria Elise von Böhm, Alice Bartlett and Arabella von Eisenwald – kindred spirits of the feisty Arabella, who share her musical talent and her passion for life. The three women find love, uncover family secrets locked away in an 18th-century music book and define their individuality in a patriarchal landscape of social straitjackets and dictated norms. But the past proves a formidable opponent.

BOOK REVIEW - SPIRIT OF THE HIGHWAY BY DEBORAH SWIFT

Book Blurb

1651 - England has been engaged in a bitter Civil War for nearly ten years. Ralph Chaplin, a farmer’s son, has fallen for beautiful copper-haired Kate. There is only one problem – he is a Roundhead soldier and she is a Royalist lady. 

Tired of bloodshed, Ralph volunteers to fight, sensing that the Battle at Worcester will be a chance to finish the fighting for good. He longs for peace, so he can forge a secure future and find a different, more equal way of life for himself and Kate. 

But War is not what he imagined, and soon he has made a deadly enemy; one who will pursue Ralph and those he loves, and wreak vengeance. What’s more, Ralph finds he has as many enemies at home, as on the battlefield. 

Told by Ralph’s ghost, Spirit of the Highway is the stand-alone second part of the Highway Trilogy based on the real life and legend of Lady Katherine Fanshawe, Highwaywoman. 

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I really liked reading Spirit of the Highway and I am grateful to the author, Deborah Swift, for granting me a review copy and letting  me make the acquaintance of her  intriguing characters. They classify this novel as YA historical fiction, but  nothing sounds teenish in it. I'd rather say it can be read both by YA and adults who love an engaging story set in the past. I'd recommend to any histfic fan because it is well written and historically accurate. I especially appreciated the thourough notes  the author added at the end of the book. Those are very precious materials for any reader who is not familiar with British history. 

"The living fear to die , but the dead fear to be forgotten"

AUTHOR GUEST POST - LIZZIE LAMB, TRAVELLING AROUND AND WRITING ABOUT SCOTLAND

Do you recognize this shop? A clue: Claire in ep. 1 of Outlander 

Readers, I have discovered, are drawn to the mystical, dreamy highlands of Scotland as the backdrop for contemporary romance. As a writer, I heartily agree with that sentiment. Tall, Dark and Kilted, features a sexy laird Ruairi (Roo-ary) Urquhart who has to fight to safeguard his land and inheritance. In Scotch on the Rocks, kilt-wearing American, Brodie arrives on Eilean na Sgairbh on the back of a storm wind and turns my heroine's life upside down.  Both novels have gone down a storm in countries where there are ex-pat Scots – USA, Australia, New Zealand or Canada; it appears that second and third generation Scots are eager to learn about the old traditions and their former homeland. And if they learn through my novels, then so much the better. My novels are meticulously researched and, as a true born Scotswoman, I write with complete authenticity about the land and its people.

Falkland, in the Kingdom of Fife where the first scenes in Outlander were shot

Romance readers simply love a novel which features a man in a kilt. The element of ‘costume’ (ie the kilt), especially in a contemporary setting, removes the hero and the reader from the here and now and transports them into the realm of fantasy. And, in the case of a kilted hero, there is also the tease of whether he’s followed tradition and gone ‘commando’.

The kilted hero in my novels is, generally, aristocratic – a laird, at the very least. And, while he does not have to work to earn his daily crust, he carries the weight of his inheritance and the welfare of his tenants and family on his shoulders. He often has emotional scars which only the heroine can heal. All of my novels have a happy ending and readers can close the book with a satisfied sigh knowing that all the obstacles which have prevented the hero and hero from leading a happy life, have resolved.

BOOK REVIEW - THE POLDARK SAGA, ROSS POLDARK (BOOK 1)

I blame Ross Poldark for ...

I hadn’t read any of the books from the Poldark saga before the new adaptation started on BBC1, though I had been totally smitten by the original series back in the 70s. I was just a kid who was beginning to learn English as a foreign language at school at that time and my love for everything British is,  for sure,  a result of Robin Ellis’s good looks and Ross Poldark’s charm as a character. My interest in Jane Austen's novels came soon after.

However, I bought the first 2 Poldark books when the remake was announced in the press. I decided I wanted to read them,  to compare them to their adaptation in the upcoming TV series.

You know, that’s one of my favourite passtimes! 

Synopsis of Book 1 - Ross Poldark

In the first novel in Winston Graham’s hit series, a weary Ross Poldark returns to England from war, looking forward to a joyful homecoming with his beloved Elizabeth. But instead he discovers his father has died, his home is overrun by livestock and drunken servants, and Elizabeth—believing Ross to be dead—is now engaged to his cousin. Ross has no choice but to start his life anew.

Thus begins the Poldark series, a heartwarming, gripping saga set in the windswept landscape of Cornwall. With an unforgettable cast of characters that spans loves, lives, and generations, this extraordinary masterwork from Winston Graham is a story you will never forget.

Go on reading at My Jane Austen Book Club

My review is part of The Ross Poldark Blog Tour promoted by Sourcebooks and it is linked to a great giveaway!

MEET RACHEL ROSSANO AND DISCOVER HER SWEET MEDIEVAL ROMANCE - WIN HONOR: SECOND NOVEL OF RHYNAN

First of all welcome Rachel and thanks for being my guest at FLY HIGH!

Thank you so much for having me come and chat.

Just out of curiosity, you know I’m Italian  and your surname is Rossano. Are you of Italian origins?

Unfortunately I don’t come by the Italian name by blood. I married into it, but I love Italians and their culture.

Honor: Second Novel of Rhynan is part of a series set in the Middle Ages and featuring intriguing love stories and gripping adventures. What is your fascination with medieval history? When did it start?

It started when I was young. I loved fairy tales, queens, kings, princes, and princesses. The romance of the Arthurian legends and the fascination with England started almost as soon as I was reading books on my own. I spent hours researching the Tudor dynasty of English history when I was a teen, but when I started writing I settled more in the Middle Ages because of the simpler and wilder setting.

You planned the Novels of Rhynan as a 5-book series + an anthology. Are the books stand-alone volumes or a connected saga following the same characters?

Each book stands alone. Each book is about a different couple, but they are linked by friendship and family. The heroes of the first and second books are best friends. The third book is about the man that the heroine in the second book rejects. The fourth and fifth books are going to be about the second generation of these couples. Reading the books in order will enrich the experience, but each can be enjoyed completely alone.

WHAT IF SACRIFICING YOUR DREAM WAS THE ONLY WAY TO GET WHAT YOU REALLY WANTED? TAMERA ALEXANDER, TO WIN HER FAVOR - INTERVIEW + GIVEAWAY

In Tamera Alexander's riveting new novel, a young woman caught in a marriage of convenience must sacrifice everything to save her home, her land, and the people she truly loves. 

Seattle: Against the backdrop of one of the most turbulent times in American history, the post-Civil War era, one woman struggles against prejudice, injustice and suffocating conventions of the 19th century to pursue her dream. Tamera Alexander's To Win Her Favor , the second stand-alone novel in the Belle Meade Plantation series, is already receiving high praise. According to Library Journal, "Strong characters, a sense of the times and the themes of love, friendship and the importance of loyalty and determination make To Win Her Favor a triumph."

Maggie Linden lost nearly everything in the Civil War - including most of her family. She's about to lose her stables and land at Linden Downs and her thoroughbred racing hopes as well. A gifted rider in a world where ladies never race, Maggie is determined that her mare, Bourbon Belle, will become a champion. Indeed, her only hope of saving Linden Downs is if the horse takes the top purse in the inaugural Peyton Stakes, the richest race ever run in America. To give his daughter a chance, Maggie's wily father makes a barter. But his agreement includes one troublesome detail: Maggie must marry a man she's never met - a man she never would have chosen for herself.

An Irishman far from home, Cullen McGrath left a once-prosperous life in England because of a horse-racing scandal that nearly ruined him. He's come to Nashville for a fresh start, hoping to buy land and begin farming, all while determined to stay as far away from thoroughbred racing as possible. With "No Irish Need Apply" signs greeting him at every turn, Cullen finds starting over proves much more difficult than he wagered. When Maggie Linden's father makes him an offer he shouldn't accept, he finds it impossible to refuse.

THE OUTLANDER SAGA BY DIANA GABALDON: DRAGONFLY IN AMBER (BOOK 2)

It took me quite a while to make up my mind and read on through Diana Gabaldon's Outlander saga. It took me time since I had decided to stop at the end of book 1 when I first read it (my review). I was quite sure that Jamie and Claire happy in France, sharing their passion in that cave under the Abbey, were an ideal finale to their story.

Then the TV series came and I reread Outlander. Once Jamie was Sam Heughan in the flesh, Claire had Caitriona Balfe spirited look and Frank/Jack Randall were both embodied by charming Tobias Menzies , I had at least 3 good reasons to enjoy this saga (more than enjoy!)

Like many other fans, I was quite sad hearing that the series would take a very long hiatus after the first 8 episodes and that we would have to wait until April 4th 2015 for the release of the second half of season 1. That's when I decided I had to go on reading.

That's why I've been reading Dragonfly in Amber and Voyager in the last weeks, (aka book 2 and book 3, aka 976 + 1,104 pages, packed with Jamie and Claire's adventures) and why I have just started Drums of Autumn.

I'm going to discuss book 2 in this post, so if you haven't read it yet, beware of inevitable spoilers ahead!

SPOTLIGHT ON ... THE NOVICE BY MIRELLA SICHIROLLO PATZER + BOOK GIVEAWAY

A young woman on the verge of taking her vows to become a nun. 

A desperate flight from a murderous massacre. 

One honorable man comes to her rescue. 

Another becomes her nemesis and captor. 

And a life and death search to reunite with her one true love.

In 10th century Naples, Saracens run rampant, annihilating villages, murdering women and children. Death and despair is everywhere. Alone in the world, Sara is a young novice plagued with doubts about taking her final vows to become a nun. When her convent is attacked, she flees for her life straight into the arms of a group of Saracens who leave her to die alone in the woods. An honorable cavaliere named Nicolo comes to her rescue and offers to take her to the safety of Naples. As they journey together, they are irresistibly drawn to each other. Believing Sara to be a nun, the honorable Nicolo is torn between love and duty to respect her vows. Heartbroken, he does what honor demands and sets her free before she can tell him the truth that she is not a nun. In her search to reunite with Nicolo, she encounters Umberto, a dark and dangerous man who will stop at nothing in his obsession to possess her. With her sharp intellect, and her heart, Sara must rely on her own courage and strength to escape her abuser and find the only man she will ever love. A story that burns with intensity, intrigue, and passion from the author of the highly popular novels, Orphan of the Olive Tree, The Contessa’s Vendetta, and The Betrothal.

LOVING LUCIANNA BLOG TOUR - FIVE QUESTIONS TO THE AUTHOR, JOYCE DI PASTENA, AND GIVEAWAY

What made you write a book about an older couple falling in love?

I belong to a Facebook group called the Clean/Sweet Romance Group. Last spring we held a joint promo event on Facebook, and afterwards the group leader challenged us to write a fall-themed short story, novella, or novel for a promo event to be held in the fall. At first I simply tried to come up with a story set during the autumn season, but then I thought, “What if I wrote a story about a couple falling in love in the autumn of their lives?” (All good plot ideas begin with “What if…?”  ) And then I remembered a pair of secondary characters who fell in love in my medieval romance, Illuminations of the Heart, who were in their 40s and 50s. Their romance was a very small part of the arc of that story, but I decided it would be fun to follow it up and see where their romance took them. And that became the kernel of my idea for Loving Luciannaand my Hearts in Autumn romance series. (Loving Lucianna is the first in my projected series. I have an idea for a second romance, hopefully to be completed by next fall.)

What advice would you give budding writers?

I  know this sound trite, but write. Write every day, even if it’s just 100 words. And most importantly, write whether you feel like writing or not. The best advice I ever received was from someone who said, “Real writers write even when they don’t feel like it.” That advice has gotten me through many a rough patch when I didn’t feel like writing but did it anyway. It’s the way books get finished. I may not enjoy every word that I write—some days it literally feels like pulling teeth to get 100 words on the page. But I have never once regretted “forcing” myself to write when I came back to the computer the next day and saw that I had made progress with my story instead of letting it stand still.

FINDING THE COURAGE TO MAKE UNPOPULAR CHOICES: THE DAUGHTER OF HIGHLAND HALL BY CARRIE TURANSKY - BOOK GIVEAWAY

When family expectations and societal pressures collide with love and faith, which values will emerge the victor? Award-winning author Carrie Turansky explores this theme in her new book, The Daughter of Highland Hall,  Book two in the Edwardian Brides Series, The Daughter of Highland Hall, follows 18-year-old Kate Ramsey on a journey of self-discovery as she travels to London to make her societal debut. Her overbearing aunt insists she secure a marriage proposal from a wealthy, titled man. As Kate begins making the round of balls and garden parties, she attracts the attention of Edward Wellington, who seems to have all the qualifications on her list. Yet, is he the best choice? Will this lifestyle bring her true happiness? Readers who were first introduced to Kate in The Governess of Highland Hall (a 2014 Carol Award finalist) can now journey with her through London high society and the East End as she learns to find her own path to love . . . and faith. "I chose Matthew 6:33, 'Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well,' as the theme verse for this story because it summarizes Kate's spiritual journey," Turansky reveals. "What is most important in life? Kate discovers when she lays down her own plans and seeks God first, He guides her toward the best path for her future."

READING, RE-READING, REVIEWING: THE MEMORY OF MIDNIGHT, OUTLANDER, JANE AUSTEN'S FIRST LOVE

Reading: The Memory of Midnight by Pamela Hartshorne

Historical novels are my best favourite kind of books, as well as classic literature. The Memory of Midnight is the one I'm reading at the moment. It is a thrilling mystery story by Pamela Hartshorne, taking place both in Elizabethan York and present-time York, dealing with two distant eras and parading two different heroines, both prisoners of the past, bound by love and fear. 

This book was a gift from a good friend of mine living in York and it has a special dedication from the author to me on the first page. I don't expect you to remember, but Pamela Hartshorne was my guest here at FLY HIGH! to present her first historical novel,  Time's Echo,  back in September 2012.  I had read, liked and reviewed her novel and she kindly accepted to be interviewed. 

My friend met her in York - where they both live - at the presentation of this second novel and got a signed copy for me. And here I am,  half-way through The Memory of Midnight.   I have been loving it so far!

BLOG TOUR & GIVEAWAY - BECOMING LADY LOCKWOOD, INTERVIEW WITH JENNIFER MOORE

Hello and welcome on FLY HIGH!,  Jennifer. It’s a great pleasure to have the chance to present you and your new spellbinding novel,   Becoming Lady Lockwood to my readers, since they are always so interested in historical fiction!  Could you tell us something about your heroine,  Amelia?

Amelia is independent and resourceful. She has no problem digging in when there’s something to be done. She’s not squeamish or spoiled. She thinks she has a plan for her life, but her tyrant father has other things in mind.

She is a colonist who grew up on a sugar plantation, so she doesn’t quite fit in with the ton of London. Her clothes aren’t the right style, her manners aren’t refined. But frankly she doesn’t care about that sort of thing.

She has a good heart and while she’s wary and proud in the beginning, she learns to trust the captain and officers and even the seamen aboard the ship.

Is she inspired by any other literary heroine you admire?

Lizzie Bennett, of course, but also I like Sheridan from ‘Until You’ by Judith McNaught. For some reason I picture Amelia looking like the actress the who plays Snow White on Ever After. Sort of plucky and happy. Bright blue eyes.

AUTHOR INTERVIEW WITH PAULINE MONTAGNA - GET YOUR FREE COPY OF HER HISTORICAL ROMANCE, THE SLAVE

The Slave by Pauline Montagna is the latest historical novel I read and it is a lovely,  gripping one. A real page turner. I was first drawn to it by the original love story the author proposes as the main feature in the plot. A young woman from a rich Italian family doomed to obey her father first,  then her husband, the man his father chose for her and a slave coming from Asia and serving in her house, a handsome young man with a broken soul and a mysterious past.

As Harriet Martineau states in her works about women's rights, slaves and women experienced the same kind of subjection: an absolute luck of equality, no basic rights, no dignity. Is that why Batu and Aurelia feel immediate sympathy for each other? 

I recommend  you this exciting romance if you enjoy reading historical fiction. I'm sure you'll love it. You can get your free copy following the instructions at the end of my interview with the author, Pauline Montagna. 

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First of all, I’d love to know something more about you, Pauline. Did you always want to become a writer?

Although I was born in Australia, all of my grandparents and my mother were born in Italy. My mother was born in the Val d’Agri in Basilicata and came to Australia when she was twelve. My paternal grandfather came to Australia from Isola d’Elba, off the coast of Tuscany, in 1921 and my father was born here. I grew up with a strong Italian identity and studied French, Italian and European history at university.

THE HEADMISTRESS OF ROSEMERE, INTERVIEW WITH AUTHOR SARAH LADD

Life is unexpected. Each day holds new surprises — some exciting, others unwanted. What matters most is how we respond to those trying situations. Sarah E. Ladd reminds us the importance of clinging to God to get us through the mountains and valleys of life in The Headmistress of Rosemere .  

Ladd hopes The Headmistress of Rosemere, book two of The Whispers on the Moors series,will encourage readers to look for help in the right place. “I think a lot of people look within themselves to try to find answers to their problems,” explains Ladd. “But if we look to ourselves for solutions, we will be disappointed. Instead, we should take our problems, cares, and worries to God and lay them at His feet. Pray about them. Ask God to make His plans known. When we do this, amazing things can happen.”

Interview

Q: The Headmistress of Rosemere is the second book of a series — do you have a common theme or message throughout the Whispers on the Moors series?

I have always loved the Regency period, and I think that a lot of readers (including myself) have a pre-conceived notion of what a Regency heroine should be like. So I really wanted to challenge that – I wanted to explore what would happen if a typically Regency lady went against traditional societal expectations.So when I approached the book in this series I asked myself, “What would a young woman in the Regency period not do?”And the series was born by answering that single question!

WILLIAM & LUCY - INTERVIEW WITH AUTHOR MICHAEL BROWN

Have you ever wondered whether the idealized, unreachable beloved of the great classic poets really existed? What they were like in their everyday life? If they were really extraordinary or were made such by the magic created through words by the men they were loved and admired by? Michael Brown transformed one of those ideal figures, William Wordsworth's Lucy, into a real blood and flesh character in his historical novel. In William & Lucy he has created a passionate love story between the great Romantic  poet, William Wordsworth,  and Lucy, the beautiful girl to whom he dedicated a few of his most famous poems. Read my interview with Michael Brown.

William & Lucy is a tale of mystery and love inspired to William Wordsworth’s  so called Lucy poems.  Who was the woman the poet dedicated his poems to?  Did she really exist?

All historical references to the Lucy of Wordsworth’s five LUCY poems are ambigious; there is no recorded history of such a young woman. Some scholars belive Lucy was the embodiement of William’s sister, Dorothy. There are other speculations but that is all they remain. I took the literary license to creat a fictionalized version of Lucy; hoping it might ring true to the story.

She dwelt among the untrodden ways

 Beside the springs of Dove

A Maid whom there were none to praise

And very few to love …

WARRIOR'S MOON BLOG TOUR - READ AN EXCERPT + GIVEAWAY

Excerpt from Warrior’s Moon

Prologue 

 Isabella Kincraig knelt before a patch of mushrooms, reached to gather them and then was still.  The forest had suddenly become silent around her and the total absence of sound was a warning in itself.  Anxiousness held her as motionless as the deer she sometimes came upon as she gathered her herbs here in this wildest tangle of trees.  Completely still, she listened while she tried to sense what was wrong. 

Something was in the woods with her. The prickle on the back of her neck made her look around anxiously, but she saw nothing among the thickness of the understory.  Worried, she turned to wake her small daughter, Chantaya, who slept on a blanket on the moss while Isabella gathered her herbs, but Isabella was caught roughly from behind before she could reach her. 

Knowing instantly who it was, she stilled, worried she’d harm her unborn child if she fought him.  When he finally moved his hand from her mouth and turned her toward him, she wanted to slap his smiling face as she hissed quietly, “Let me go!  My husband will be furious!”

Young Lord Rosskeene simply smiled unconcernedly again.  “He wouldn’t dare try to challenge me and it’s well you know it.  I would see him hang.  Then you would be only more available to the admiration of a benevolent landlord like myself.”  His voice changed to an almost amiable cajoling sound.  “If you would only agree to be with me, Isabella, you’d find that I can be quite pleasant.  Even your husband would appreciate my generosity.  If you’d come work right in the manor house, I’d see to it that you made a much greater wage.”