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Monday, March 27, 2023

Blog Tour: The Courtesan’s Daughter by Susanne Dunlap

Posted By amy @ 9:28 am | No Comments

The Courtesan’s Daughter
by Susanne Dunlap

Publication Date: April 25, 2023
Atmosphere Press

Genre: Historical Fiction

 

 

What happens when a daughter’s dream and a mother’s sordid past collide?

New York, 1910. Seventeen-year-old Sylvie and her French-immigrant mother Justine eke out a living doing piecework in a tenement on the Lower East Side, while Sylvie attends school so that she can escape their life of poverty by becoming a teacher.

At least, that’s what her mother believes should happen. Sylvie, though, has a different dream. She wants to be a star in the new moving pictures, just like the beautiful Vitagraph Girl. When she meets a dangerously handsome Italian boy at church one Sunday and he encourages her ambitions, she begins secretly taking steps toward the career she knows her mother won’t approve of.

But Sylvie isn’t the only one with secrets. Justine has kept her sordid past from Sylvie ever since they came to New York fifteen years before, stitching together a fabric of lies along with the shirtwaists she finishes every day, doing everything in her power to keep the truth from her daughter-that she fled Paris as a courtesan after committing a crime that could still get her arrested, or worse.

When Justine’s past catches up with her in a single act of brutality, Sylvie witnesses what she thinks is her mother’s betrayal and runs away during a freak blizzard, putting them both in grave danger.

Ambition, survival, and unexpected alliances combine in this mother-daughter story that proves love can conquer all-at a price.

“A blisteringly smart novel of resilience and the pursuit of one’s dreams. The Courtesan’s Daughter draws readers in from the first page with its beguiling beginning. As it hurtles ahead, it holds you rapt up to the last page. Undoubtedly, this story is a tour de force from an author with absolute command of the genre.” – Chanticleer Book Reviews

Amazon | Barnes and Noble

About the Author

Susanne Dunlap is the author of twelve works of historical fiction for adults and teens, as well as an Author Accelerator Certified Book Coach. Her love of historical fiction arose partly from her studies in music history at Yale University (PhD, 1999), partly from her lifelong interest in women in the arts as a pianist and non-profit performing arts executive. Her novel The Paris Affair won first place in its category in the CIBA Dante Rossetti awards for Young Adult Fiction. The Musician’s Daughter was a Junior Library Guild Selection and a Bank Street Children’s Book of the Year, and was nominated for the Utah Book Award and the Missouri Gateway Reader’s Prize. In the Shadow of the Lamp was an Eliot Rosewater Indiana High School Book Award nominee. Susanne earned her BA and an MA (musicology) from Smith College, and lives in Biddeford, ME, with her little dog Betty.

For more information, please visit Susanne Dunlap’s website. You can follow author Susanne Dunlap on Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, Instagram, Pinterest, and BookBub.

Blog Tour Schedule

Tuesday, April 25
Review at Book Reviews and More
Review at A Potpourri of Opinions

Friday, April 28
Review at Novels Alive
Review at Carole Rae’s Random Ramblings

Monday, May 1
Review at Adventures in Lit

Wednesday, May 3
Review at Gwendalyn’s Books

Friday, May 5
Review at Reading is My Remedy
Review at Books, Cooks, Looks

Monday, May 8
Review at Cover Lover Book Review

Thursday, May 11
Excerpt at Passages to the Past

Tuesday, May 16
Excerpt at Books, Cooks, Looks

Friday, May 19
Review at Coffee and Ink

Giveaway

Enter to win a copy of The Courtesan’s Daughter by Susanne Dunlap.

The giveaway is open to the US only and ends on May 19th. You must be 18 or older to enter.

The Courtesan’s Daughter

Monday, March 20, 2023

Blog Tour: Nothing Left But Dust by Melissa Geissinger

Posted By amy @ 11:01 am | No Comments

Nothing Left But Dust
by Melissa Geissinger

Publication Date: April 18, 2023

Genre: Young Adult/Historical Fiction

 

 

Nothing Left But Dust is a powerful tale of love, loss, and hope set against the backdrop of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake.

Follow Jo, a young woman struggling to heal after her Papa’s death, as she tries to break free of her uncle’s indentured servitude and secure an apprenticeship at a mapmaking shop.

And Otto, a privileged young man with dreams of running away to become an artist, as he battles to escape the clutches of a ruthless crimp who means to have him shanghaied.

When the city is struck by the devastating earthquake on the morning of April 18th, their lives are forever changed. While it sets Otto free, it takes everything Jo holds dear and unearths a dark family secret.

As they traverse the burning ruins of the city in search of answers, Jo and Otto must find the strength to survive and the courage to confront their families, all while navigating the unfamiliar landscape of falling in love.

Nothing Left But Dust is a must read for fans of Young Adult Historical Fiction. It’s an edge-of-your-seat, coming-of-age survival story that will leave you inspired by the strength and resilience of the human spirit.

Available on Amazon

About the Author

Melissa Geissinger is descended from survivors of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and is herself a wildfire survivor. A neurodivergent optimist, Melissa is predisposed to following her dreams as well as every shiny side quest along the way. She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her partner, her five-year-old heart warrior son, and a menagerie of fur kids. She enjoys the outdoors, soaking up knowledge, and connecting with other passionate creators. Nothing Left But Dust is her first novel.

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

Wednesday, March 1, 2023

Blog Tour: The Good Time Girls by K.T. Blakemore

Posted By amy @ 12:11 pm | 1 Comment

The Good Time Girls
by K.T. Blakemore

Publication Date: April 4, 2023
Sycamore Creek Press

Genre: Historical Fiction/Western
Series: Wild-Willed Women of the West

 

 

A novel of wild women, the bonds of friendship, a harrowing road trip, and help found in the least likely places.

In 1905 Kansas, ex-dancehall girl and outlaw Ruby Calhoun has settled into a (mostly) quiet and (mostly) lawful life. But out of the blue her past comes hustling into town when her ex-friend and ex-dancehall partner, Pip, shows up with a grim message and dangerous mission: Cullen Wilder, an old enemy with a long memory, wants them dead and the only way to survive is to kill him first.

With Cullen’s henchman hot on their heels, Ruby and Pip hightail into the hinterlands of Kansas to save another friend from Cullen’s vengeance. Unprepared for the journey, their trip is filled with mishaps and mayhem, blunders and bounders, con artists and the circling noose of the law.

Through it all, Ruby is tormented by the memories of her life years ago in Arizona Territory, when the upstairs girls at the Paradise Saloon and Dancehall kept her safe, and the dreadful day when it all went wrong.

Will Ruby have the guts to face her turbulent past, or will she cut and run like a coward one more time?

Amazon

Praise

“Magnificently written, Good Time Girls is a tough, gritty and often humorous wild ride of danger, death, narrow escapes and yes, love. K.T. Blakemore owns the time period as if she had lived through it, and the characters as if she knew them personally. Open up the book, but hang onto your hat.” – James Robert Daniels, bestselling author of The Comanche Kid

“The Good Time Girls is an expertly crafted tale of two women whose endearing friendship aids them in conquering their fears and the men who made them. Told in humorous, and sometimes touching, McMurtry-esque prose, this book will keep you entertained and glued to your chair far into the night. If you like bold women and stories of the West, you will love this literary adventure!” – Kari Bovee, award-winning author of the Annie Oakley Mystery Series and the Grace Michelle Mysteries

About the Author

K.T. Blakemore grew up in the west and never left. Her novel THE GOOD TIME GIRLS is the first in the Wild-Willed Women of the West Series, featuring women who take no prisoners and succeed through sheer grit, determination, and a parcel of luck.

She also writes award-winning historical suspense and young adult historical fiction under the pen name Kim Taylor Blakemore. Awards have included a Killer Nashville Silver Falchion Award, Tucson Festival of Book Literary Award, and a WILLA Award for Best YA Fiction.

Memberships include Historical Novel Society, Women’s Fiction Writers Association, and Women Writing the West.

She has hung her hat in California, Colorado, and currently the Pacific Northwest. The rain does not deter her research whether it be train timetables from 1905 or the best way to catch a loose horse.

K.T. also runs the Novelitics ranch, providing developmental editing, workshops, and a writing community for novelists.

Website | Facebook | Instagram | Pinterest | BookBub | Amazon | Goodreads

Giveaway

Enter to win an eBook of The Good Time Girls by K.T. Blakemore!

The giveaway is open to the US only and ends on April 26th. You must be 18 or older to enter.

Good Time Girls

Blog Tour Schedule

Tuesday, April 4
Guest Post at Author MK McClintock Blog

Thursday, April 6
Feature at CelticLady’s Reviews

Friday, April 7
Feature at Dive Into a Good Book

Tuesday, April 11
Review at Locks, Hooks and Books

Wednesday, April 12
Review at Novels Alive

Friday, April 14
Feature at Cover Lover Book Reviews

Sunday, April 16
Feature at Reading is My Remedy

Monday, April 17
Review at Passages to the Past

Wednesday, April 19
Review at Tammy Reads

Thursday, April 20
Review at Rajiv’s Reviews

Friday, April 21
Feature at Books In Their Natural Habitat

Monday, April 24
Review at History from a Woman’s Perspective

Wednesday, April 26
Review at Coffee and Ink