Fiery Girls
by Heather Wardell

Publication Date: March 25, 2021
Heather Wardell

Genre: Historical Fiction

 

 

Two young immigrant women. One historic strike. And the fire that changed America.

In 1909, shy sixteen-year-old Rosie Lehrer is sent to New York City to earn money for her family’s emigration from Russia. She will, but she also longs to make her mark on the world before her parents arrive and marry her to a suitable Jewish man. Could she somehow become one of the passionate and articulate “fiery girls” of her garment workers’ union?

Maria Cirrito, spoiled and confident, lands at Ellis Island a few weeks later. She’s supposed to spend four years earning American wages then return home to Italy with her new-found wealth to make her family’s lives better. But the boy she loves has promised, with only a little coaxing, to follow her to America and marry her. So she plans to stay forever. With him.

Rosie and Maria meet and become friends during the “Uprising of the 20,000” garment workers’ strike, and they’re working together at the Triangle Waist Company on March 25, 1911 when a discarded cigarette sets the factory ablaze. 146 people die that day, and even those who survive will be changed forever.

Carefully researched and full of historic detail, “Fiery Girls” is a novel of hope: for a better life, for turning tragedy into progress, and for becoming who you’re meant to be.

Amazon | Barnes and Noble | IndieBound

About the Author

Heather is a natural 1200 wpm speed reader and the author of twenty-one self-published novels. She came to writing after careers as a software developer and elementary school computer teacher and can’t imagine ever leaving it. In her spare time, she reads, swims, walks, lifts weights, crochets, changes her hair colour, and plays drums and clarinet. Generally not all at once.

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest | Goodreads

Book Blast Schedule

Monday, March 15
Novels Alive

Tuesday, March 16
Bookish Rantings

Wednesday, March 17
Crystal’s Library

Thursday, March 18
With A Book In Our Hands

Friday, March 19
Just One More Chapter
The Whispering Bookworm

Monday, March 22
I’m Into Books

Tuesday, March 23
CelticLady’s Reviews

Wednesday, March 24
Coffee and Ink

Thursday, March 25
What Is That Book About

Friday, March 26
Bookworlder
View from the Birdhouse

Monday, March 29
Chicks, Rogues and Scandals

Tuesday, March 30
A Chick Who Reads

Wednesday, March 31
Reading is My Remedy

Thursday, April 1
Bibliostatic

Friday, April 2
Pursuing Stacie

Monday, April 5
Books, Cooks, Looks

Tuesday, April 6
Passages to the Past

Wednesday, April 7
The Book Junkie Reads

Friday, April 9
Rachelle Loves Books

Giveaway

During the Blog Tour, we are giving away a $20 Amazon Gift Card!

The giveaway is open internationally and ends on April 9th. You must be 18 or older to enter.

Fiery Girls

The Steel Beneath the Silk
by Patricia Bracewell

Publication Date: March 2, 2021
Bellastoria Press

Series: The Emma of Normandy Series, Book 3
Genre: Medieval/Historical Fiction

 

 

A breathtaking conclusion to Bracewell’s Emma of Normandy Trilogy, brimming with treachery, heartache, tenderness and passion as the English queen confronts ambitious and traitorous councilors, invading armies and the Danish king’s power-hungry concubine.

In the year 1012 England’s Norman-born Queen Emma has been ten years wed to an aging, ruthless, haunted King Æthelred. The marriage is a bitterly unhappy one, between a queen who seeks to create her own sphere of influence within the court and a suspicious king who eyes her efforts with hostility and resentment. But royal discord shifts to grudging alliance when Cnut of Denmark, with the secret collusion of his English concubine Elgiva, invades England at the head of a massive viking army. Amid the chaos of war, Emma must outwit a fierce enemy whose goal is conquest and outmaneuver the cunning Elgiva, who threatens all those whom Emma loves.

Amazon | Barnes and Noble

 

About the Author

Patricia Bracewell grew up in Los Angeles where her love of stories led to college degrees in Literature, a career as a high school English teacher, and a yearning to write. Her first novel, Shadow on the Crown, about the 11th-century queen of England, Emma of Normandy, was published in 2013. Its sequel, The Price of Blood, appeared in 2015. The final book of her Emma of Normandy Trilogy, The Steel Beneath the Silk will be published March 2, 2021.

Patricia lives with her husband in Oakland, California.

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads

Blog Tour Schedule

Monday, March 1
Review at Books, Cooks, Looks

Tuesday, March 2
Guest Post at Novels Alive

Wednesday, March 3
Review at Gwendalyn’s Books

Thursday, March 4
Review at Into the Hall of Books

Saturday, March 6
Review at Pursuing Stacie

Tuesday, March 9
Review at Passages to the Past

Wednesday, March 10
Interview at Passages to the Past

Thursday, March 11
Feature at Reading is My Remedy

Saturday, March 13
Guest Post at Let Them Read Books

Monday, March 15
Feature at Coffee and Ink

Tuesday, March 16
Review at Madwoman in the Attic

Thursday, March 18
Feature at The Whispering Bookworm

Friday, March 19
Review at Rajiv’s Reviews

Monday, March 22
Review at Novels Alive

Tuesday, March 23
Interview at Books & Benches

Wednesday, March 24
Guest Post at Chicks, Rogues and Scandals

Friday, March 26
Feature at Historical Fiction with Spirit

Tuesday, March 30
Review at Jorie Loves a Story
Review at The Enchanted Shelf

Giveaway

During the Blog Tour, we are giving away two paperback copies of The Steel Beneath the Silk!

The giveaway is open to the US only and ends on March 30th. You must be 18 or older to enter.

The Steel Beneath the Silk

Rhapsody
by Mitchell James Kaplan

Publication Date: March 2, 2021
Gallery Books
Hardcover, eBook, Audiobook; 352 pages

Genre: Biographical/Literary/Historical

 

 

One evening in 1924, Katharine “Kay” Swift—the restless but loyal society wife of wealthy banker James Warburg and a serious pianist who longs for recognition—attends a concert. The piece: Rhapsody in Blue. The composer: a brilliant, elusive young musical genius named George Gershwin.

Kay is transfixed, helpless to resist the magnetic pull of George’s talent, charm, and swagger. Their ten-year love affair, complicated by her conflicted loyalty to her husband and the twists and turns of her own musical career, ends only with George’s death from a brain tumor at the age of thirty-eight.

Set in Jazz Age New York City, this stunning work of fiction, for fans of The Paris Wife and Loving Frank, explores the timeless bond between two brilliant, strong-willed artists. George Gershwin left behind not just a body of work unmatched in popular musical history, but a woman who loved him with all her heart, knowing all the while that he belonged not to her, but to the world.

Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Indiebound

Praise

“Mitchell James Kaplan pens a lilting, jazzy ballad as catchy as a Gershwin tune, bringing to vibrant life the complicated relationship between classically trained composer Kay Swift and free-wheeling star George Gershwin. Their musical bond is as powerful as their passion, and jazz-soaked gin-drenched Broadway is their playground through the tumultuous years of the Great War and Prohibition. Rhapsody will have you humming, toe-tapping, and singing along with every turn of the page.” –Kate Quinn, New York Times bestselling author of THE ALICE NETWORK and THE HUNTRESS

“We all know Gershwin, but how many know he was ‘the man behind the woman,” the conflicted, extraordinary Katherine ‘Kay’ Swift? Mitchell James Kaplan illuminates her in Rhapsody, bringing his impressive knowledge of history, composition, and the heart’s whims to bear on this shining rendition of Swift and Gershwin’s star-crossed love.” –Therese Anne Fowler, New York Times bestselling author of Z and A GOOD NEIGHBORHOOD

“In Rhapsody, Mitchell James Kaplan brings to lyrical life the romance between Kay Swift and George Gershwin. A gifted musician in her own right, Kay was no mere accompanist to Gershwin’s genius; she was a true partner, unfortunately little remembered today. Kaplan’s vivid prose and empathetic characterization shines a spotlight on this remarkable woman who contributed so much to American music.” –Melanie Benjamin, New York Times bestselling author of The Swans of Fifth Avenue and Mistress of the Ritz

“Mitchell James Kaplan’s Rhapsody shines a blazing light on the celebrated George Gershwin, uncovering the man behind the legend through the story of the woman he loved, Kay Swift, a brilliant musician caught in the swiftly moving mores of New York’s Jazz Age. Rich with history and packed with intricate detail, Rhapsody soars.” –Randy Susan Meyers, bestselling author of THE WIDOW OF WALL STREET and WAISTED

“Mitchell James Kaplan has captured a whole world in his luminous journey through the jazz age in fast-paced New York City with this love story of composer Kay Swift and the brilliant but elusive George Gershwin. Kay first heard him playing his Rhapsody in Blue, but she was married to a wealthy man and Gershwin could be faithful only to his own genius. Through Broadway theaters and concerts, he was rising so fast that neither the Great Depression, nor the darkening rise of Hitler across the sea, nor the impossible difficulties of writing the first black folk-opera Porgy and Bess could stop him. Through their love affair, Gershwin and Kay gave fire to each other’s music until nothing could derail his meteoric success but time.” –Stephanie Cowell, American Book Award-winning author of CLAUDE AND CAMILLE and THE PHYSICIAN OF LONDON

About the Author

Mitchell James Kaplan graduated with honors from Yale University, where he won the Paine Memorial Prize for Best Long-Form Senior Essay submitted to the English Department. His first mentor was the author William Styron.

After college, Kaplan lived in Paris, France, where he worked as a translator, then in Southern California, where he worked as a screenwriter and in film production.

He lives in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia with his family and two cats.

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

Blog Tour Schedule

Sunday, February 14
Review at Pursuing Stacie

Monday, February 15
Review at Reading the Past

Tuesday, February 16
Review at With A Book In Our Hands

Wednesday, February 17
Interview at Jathan & Heather

Thursday, February 18
Review at Rajiv’s Reviews

Monday, February 22
Review at Chicks, Rogues, and Scandals

Tuesday, February 23
Review at 100 Pages a Day

Wednesday, February 24
Feature at Historical Fiction with Spirit

Thursday, February 25
Review at Bibliostatic

Saturday, February 27
Review at Reading is My Remedy

Monday, March 1
Review at Rebecca is Reading

Tuesday, March 2
Review at Passages to the Past

Wednesday, March 3
Review at Crystal’s Library

Friday, March 5
Review at Kellie Butler

Sunday, March 7
Interview at Reader_ceygo

Monday, March 8
Review & Excerpt at Books, Cooks, Looks

Wednesday, March 10
Guest Post at Novels Alive

Thursday, March 11
Review at The Review Crew

Friday, March 12
Review at Novels Alive
Feature at Reader_ceygo
Feature at The Lit Bitch
Review at A Darn Good Read
Review at The Enchanted Shelf
Review at View from the Birdhouse

Giveaway

We have 2 paperback copies of Rhapsody by Mitchell James Kaplan up for grabs!

The giveaway is open to the US only and ends on March 12th. You must be 18 or older to enter.

Rhapsody Tour

Queenie’s Place
by Toni Morgan

Publication Date: December 6, 2018
Adelaide Books Publishers
Paperback & eBook; 302 pages

Genre: Historical Fiction

 

 

Queenie’s Place, set in rural North Carolina in the early seventies, is the story of an unusual sisterhood between a thirty-something white woman from California and a fifty-something black woman from the south. From the moment Doreen Donavan sees the “Welcome to Klan Country” sign outside Goldsboro, North Carolina is one culture shock after another. She thinks the women she meets on the military base, where she and her family now live, are the dullest, stuffiest, most stuck-up women she’s ever run across, and frankly, they don’t think much of her either. She’s hot, miserable, and bored. Then one day, BAM, her car tire goes flat, right in front of a roadhouse outside the town of Richland, near where MCB Camp Puller is located. Inside, Queenie is holding forth at the piano. The place is jumping. Besides the music, there’s dancing and the best barbecue in North Carolina. Doreen’s husband, Tom arrives and must practically peel her out of the place. Queenie doesn’t expect to see Doreen again, but Doreen comes back and their unlikely friendship begins. Without warning, Queenie’s place is closed, the women accused of prostitution and bootlegging. A born crusader (she cut her teeth demonstrating against the Vietnam War—yes, even with her husband over there), Doreen quickly dons her armor and saddles up. Things don’t go quite as planned.

Amazon | Barnes and Noble | IndieBound

About the Author

A longtime military spouse, TONI MORGAN has lived in many parts of the US and also for nearly four years in rural Japan. There she had the good fortune to work part-time in a Japanese pottery factory. That rich experience led to the first in her WWII trilogy ECHOES FROM A FALLING BRIDGE, which gives a unique view of life in rural Japan during the war. Second in the trilogy is HARVEST THE WIND, partially set in a Japanese internment camp in Idaho’s Magic Valley. The third in the series is LOTUS BLOSSOM UNFURLING, which continues the saga after the war ends. She also wrote PATRIMONY, and TWO-HEARTED CROSSING, companion books set in Montreal Quebec Canada during the Quebec Separatist Movement and 20 years later, in northern Idaho. Her novel QUEENIE’S PLACE is a 2019 National Book Award in Literature nominee. Her short stories have appeared in various literary magazines and journals, and her short story “Tin Soldier” was included in MOORING AGAINST THE TIDE, a creative fiction and poetry textbook published by Prentice Hall. Her most recent release is BETWEEN LOVE AND HATE, a collection of short stories, including Pushcart Prize nominee “The House on East Orange Street” and the aforementioned “Tin Soldier.”

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

Blog Tour Schedule

Monday, March 15
Review at Passages to the Past

Tuesday, March 16
Review at Pursuing Stacie

Wednesday, March 17
Interview at Passages to the Past

Friday, March 19
Feature at View from the Birdhouse

Saturday, March 20
Review at Rajiv’s Reviews

Monday, March 22
Excerpt at Bookworlder

Wednesday, March 24
Review at YA, It’s Lit

Friday, March 26
Guest Post at Novels Alive

Saturday, March 27
Review at Reading is My Remedy

Sunday, March 28
Interview at Reader_ceygo

Monday, March 29
Review at Reader_ceygo

Wednesday, March 31
Interview at Jathan & Heather

Thursday, April 1
Review at American Historical Novels Book Club

Friday, April 2
Excerpt at Coffee and Ink

Giveaway

Enter to win a set of signed paperback copies of Toni Morgan’s WWII Trilogy!

The giveaway is open to the US only and ends on April 2nd. You must be 18 or older to enter.

Queenie’s Place

The Sky Worshipers
by F.M. Deemyad

Publication Date: March 2, 2021
History Through Fiction LLC
Hardcover, Paperback, & eBook

Genre: Historical Fiction

 

 

In the year 1398 A.D., Lady Goharshad and her husband, King Shahrokh, come across an ancient manuscript in the ruins of Karakorum, the Mongol capital. The manuscript chronicles the era of Mongol invasions with entries by three princesses from China, Persia, and Poland who are captured and brought to the Mongol court.

After being stolen from her family at the Tangut Emperor’s coronation, Princess Chaka, the Emperor’s youngest daughter is left with no choice but to marry Genghis Khan. Thus, the Tangut join Genghis as allies. She is the first to secretly chronicle the historical events of her time, and in doing so she has the help of an African eunuch by the name of Baako who brings her news from the war front.

Princess Reyhan is the witty granddaughter of the last Seljuk King in Persia. She is kidnapped by Ogodei, Genghis’s son and heir, who falls in love with her. The romance does not last long, however, since a Mongol beauty wins Ogodei’s heart, and Reyhan is sidelined. Reyhan continues the tradition of recording the events in secret, turning her entries into tales.

During the Mongol invasion of Poland and Hungary, Princess Krisztina, niece to Henry the Pious, is taken as a prisoner of war by the Mongols. Reyhan learns about Krisztina’s predicament through Baako and asks Hulagu, Genghis’s grandson, to help free her. Krisztina has a difficult time adjusting to life in Mongolia, and at one point she attempts to run away but is unsuccessful. When the child she is bearing is stillborn, the Mongol court shuns her. She is able to return to her homeland in old age but comes back to Karakorum and writes her final entry in the journal.

Through beautiful language and powerful storytelling, this fact-based historical novel lays bare the once far-reaching and uncompromising Mongol empire. It shows readers the hidden perspectives of the captive, conquered, and voiceless. It brings to light the tremendous but forgotten influence of Genghis Khan and his progeny, while asking readers to reconsider the destruction and suffering of the past on which the future is built.

Amazon & Barnes and Noble

Praise

“The author’s in-depth research is evident throughout The Sky Worshippers. For readers who enjoy a lush blend of historical fact and fiction, this novel details the smells, sights, sounds of a pivotal era in time, uniquely told through the eyes of three captive princesses.” – Gina Wilkinson author of When the Apricots Bloom

“F.M. Deemyad immerses the reader into the 13th Century world of Genghis Khan. It’s an unforgettable story of survival and strong women as we experience life through the eyes of the conquered-and the conquerors. In The Sky Worshipers, history comes vividly alive.” – John DeDakis, Novelist, Writing Coach, and former Senior Copy Editor for CNN’s “The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer”, www.JohnDeDakis.com

“In this stunning saga, F. M. Deemyad takes us on a thrilling journey as Genghis Khan and his sons sweep across Asia and Europe, worshiping the sky while they conquer one nation after another and capture women to enslave and marry. The women’s stories, rich with architectural, historical and cultural detail, hold an important message for all of us who have inherited privileges as the result of our ancestor’s atrocities. A great read and a phenomenal debut!” – Raima Larter, Author of Fearless and Belle o’ the Waters

“The Sky Worshipers by F.M. Deemyad draws us into Genghis Khan’s conquests through the eyes of three women ripped from their homes and thrust into royal service. This lyrical novel is a vivid imagining of hearts and minds of women who left their marks on history, despite history’s failure to acknowledge their contributions. It allows us to connect with timeless striving for a world of compassion, equal opportunity, and celebration of diversity. A beautiful novel.” – Lisa L. Leibow, J.D., Co-Founder, Board President, Chief Operating Officer, The Scheherazade Project

“An illuminating telling of Mongol conquest and the people who lived-and died-making decisions that shaped half the world. The broad strokes of time are revealed through the perspectives of single bristles of the brush. Cleverly imagined and carefully rendered, The Sky Worshipers is an engaging, personal look at one of history’s momentous eras.” – Zach Powers, author of First Cosmic Velocity

About the Author

F.M. Deemyad was born in Kermanshah, Iran. She grew up in the capital, Tehran, attending bilingual schools run by Christian and Jewish minorities. Her father, born and raised in India, had come to Iran when he was in his late twenties. Being the son of a linguist who had taught English Literature in India for a number of years, he exposed the author in her preschool years to the English language, and she learned to love classic literature under her father’s instructions. She received her Master’s degree in Writing from Johns Hopkins University in 2016. She currently resides with her husband in Maryland.

Website | Twitter | Goodreads

Blog Tour Schedule

Tuesday, March 2
Review at Books, Cooks, Looks

Wednesday, March 3
Review at Hoover Book Reviews

Thursday, March 4
Review at Girl Who Reads
Interview at Jathan & Heather

Friday, March 5
Review at YA, It’s Lit

Monday, March 8
Review at Reader Ceygo
Feature at I’m Into Books
Guest Post at Novels Alive

Tuesday, March 9
Review at @the.b00kreader
Review at With A Book In Our Hands

Wednesday, March 10
Review at Rajiv’s Reviews

Thursday, March 11
Excerpt at Chicks, Rogues and Scandals

Friday, March 12
Excerpt at Bibliostatic

Sunday, March 14
Interview at Reader Ceygo

Monday, March 15
Review at Books and Zebras
Review at Historical Fiction with Spirit

Tuesday, March 16
Feature at Reading is My Remedy

Wednesday, March 17
Excerpt at Coffee and Ink

Giveaway

Enter to win a copy of The Sky Worshipers! Two copies are up for grabs!

The giveaway is open to the US only and ends on March 17th. You must be 18 or older to enter.

The Sky Worshipers