Where David Threw Stones
by Elyse Hoffman

Publication Date: September 27, 2022
Project 613

Genre: Historical Fiction

 

 

“Welcome to the Brennenbach of Midnight! The Curse Hours have begun.”

West Germany, 1968

When ten-year-old David Saidel’s parents are murdered, he is sent to live with his grandfather in the anti-Semitic village of Brennenbach. Miserable and lonely, David finds solace in his kindly Grandpa Ernst, who has one strict rule: never go out after midnight.

When David breaks curfew to search for his missing dog, he discovers why Ernst is so serious about his curfew: Brennenbach is cursed. When midnight strikes, the town is thrown back to 1943, the height of Hitler’s reign.

The Nazi ghosts that infest Brennenbach are just as dangerous as they were in life. They’re hunting for David, thinking he is the last member of a family they’ve been ordered to destroy.

Through the help of a little girl named Maria Rahm, David sets out to end the Curse before it claims more victims.

About the Author

Elyse Hoffman is an award-winning author who strives to tell historical tales with new twists. Having studied WWII since the age of thirteen and with interests in fantasy and Jewish folklore, she loves to combine them in her writing. Elyse started writing novels at fourteen and finished her first historical fiction work at fifteen. She has published eight books: five in a series called The Barracks of the Holocaust, and three novels, including The Book of Uriel, Where David Threw Stones, and Fracture. In her spare time, she loves to read, work on pretty keyboards, and hang out with her co-authors – her Goldendoodle Ari and her ex-feral cat, Echo.

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Half Notes From Berlin
by B.V. Glants

Publication Date: October 4, 2022
Anchor Media

Genre: Historical Fiction

 

 

Berlin, 1933.

Hans believes he and his family are safe from persecution.

Then, he discovers his family’s dirty secret: his maternal grandparents were Jews who converted to Christianity.

Driven by the desire to understand who he is and whether his mother’s blood is tainted, Hans befriends Rebecca, the only Jewish girl he knows. Perhaps if Jewish blood isn’t evil, his mother will be ok.

To be a Jew in Hitler’s Germany is dangerous.

But to fall in love with one is unthinkable.

Desperate to keep both his family’s true heritage and his love for Rebecca a secret, Hans attempts to navigate this terrifying new world. He’s disconsolate when his Jewish mother is kicked out of the Berlin Conservatory. He’s disgusted by his Aryan father’s aims to acquire Jewish business on the cheap.

Worst, he must watch helplessly as his classmates target Rebecca with increasing violence and malice.

But when his school announces it will expel Jewish students, Hans is determined to fight for Rebecca — and the lives and souls of his family.

“…[a] beautifully written historical debut explores themes of identity and resistance…their gripping stories will stick with readers long after the last page.” –BookLife Reviews – Editors Choice

“A mesmerizing novel, moving and intelligent.”–Kirkus Reviews

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About the Author

B.V. Glants was born in Soviet Ukraine and immigrated with his family to suburban New Jersey when he was ten years old. Raised on family stories ranging from his grandparents’ fight for survival in WW2 to his parents’ confrontations with Soviet antisemitism, he now lives in Silicon Valley with his wife and daughter.

B.V. Glants is a lay leader at a Jewish day school, a Wexner Heritage Program member, and a technology entrepreneur, most recently having cofounded Tonic Health (sold to R1, NASDAQ:RCM) and Turnkey Labs. That hasn’t stopped him from earning an MFA at California College of the Arts and attending writers’ conferences at Squaw and Sewanee. He writes historical fiction from a Jewish perspective, focusing on how major historical events challenge and transform the lives of everyday families. Half Notes from Berlin is his first published novel.

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Blog Tour Schedule

Monday, November 28
Feature at Pages and Paws

Thursday, December 1
Review at Dive Into a Good Book
Feature at Books, Ramblings, and Tea

Friday, December 2
Feature at Coffee and Ink

Saturday, December 3
Review at Bookworlder

Monday, December 12
Review at Reading is My Remedy

Thursday, December 15
Review at Impressions in Ink

Monday, December 19
Feature at Tammy Reads
Review at Novels Alive

Wednesday, December 21
Excerpt at CelticLady’s Reviews

Friday, December 23
Review at Carole’s Ramblings

Tuesday, December 27
Review at Cover Lover Book Review

Wednesday, December 28
Review at Girl Who Reads

Friday, December 30
Excerpt at Passages to the Past

Giveaway

Enter to win a paperback copy of Half Notes from Berlin by B.V. Glants! We have 10 copies up for grabs!

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

Half Notes From Berlin

The Myrtle Wand
by Margaret Porter

Publication Date: October 11, 2022
Gallica Press

Genre: Historical Fiction

 

 

The Myrtle Wand, a retelling and a continuation of the classic ballet Giselle, restores original story elements to transform a tale of blighted romances and betrayals into a quest for redemption and restorative love.

Princess Bathilde de Sevreau, her school friend Myrte, and the peasant girl Giselle have heard the legend of the vilis, ghostly maidens who rise from their graves by night to roam the forest, seeking revenge on faithless lovers. Each will fear being ensnared by that spectral sisterhood…

Bathilde, destined for a marriage of convenience with Albin, Duc de Rozel, leaves her ancestral château for the Sun King’s sophisticated and scandalous court. As participants in royal ceremonies and entertainments, the princess and the soldier gradually recognize their deep feelings for each other, as well as mutual hopes for a happy and satisfying union. But the tragic consequences of Albin’s brief masquerade as a commoner and the amorous Louis XIV’s quest for a mistress divide the betrothed couple. Together and separately, they must overcome conflicting duties and unexpected dangers to determine their fate.

Praise

“An absorbing and touching tale . . . a fully realized, moving portrait of the storied court of Louis XIV.” ~ Kirkus Reviews

“Lushly atmospheric . . .rich with historical detail. Porter imagines the story behind the iconic Giselle, transporting us to France during the early reign of the Sun King.” ~ Leslie Carroll, author of Royal Romances

About the Author

MARGARET PORTER is award-winning, bestselling author of The Myrtle Wand (October 2022), The Limits of Limelight (September 2021), Beautiful Invention: A Novel of Hedy Lamarr, and twelve other historical novels. After studying British history in the U.K., she worked professionally in theatre, film, and television. A historian and avid traveler, Margaret returns to Great Britain and Europe for research. She lives in New England with husband and dog, dividing her time between an architecturally unique book-filled house in a small city and a waterfront cottage on one of the region’s largest lakes.

More information is available on her website and blog. You can also connect with her on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Goodreads.

Blog Tour Schedule

Tuesday, October 11
Review at Novels Alive
Review at Michelle the PA Loves to Read

Wednesday, October 12
Review at Books, Cooks, Looks

Thursday, October 13
Review at A Potpourri of Opinions

Friday, October 14
Review at Pursuing Stacie
Excerpt at What Is That Book About

Saturday, October 15
Review at 100 Pages a Day

Sunday, October 16
Excerpt at Reading Is My Remedy

Monday, October 17
Review at Jorie Loves A Story
Review at History from a Woman’s Perspective

Tuesday, October 18
Review at Little But Fierce Book Diary

Giveaway

Grand prize:

Autographed book, Giselle ballet t-shirt, The Myrtle Wand 15 oz. ceramic coffee mug, myrtle plant grown by the author

2 Runners up:

Autographed book

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

The Myrtle Wand

Under a Veiled Moon
by Karen Odden

Publication Date: October 11, 2022
Crooked Lane Books

Genre: Historical Mystery
Series: An Inspector Corravan Mystery, Book Two

 

 

In the tradition of C. S. Harris and Anne Perry, a fatal disaster on the Thames and a roiling political conflict set the stage for Karen Odden’s second Inspector Corravan historical mystery.

September 1878. One night, as the pleasure boat the Princess Alice makes her daily trip up the Thames, she collides with the Bywell Castle, a huge iron-hulled collier. The Princess Alice shears apart, throwing all 600 passengers into the river; only 130 survive. It is the worst maritime disaster London has ever seen, and early clues point to sabotage by the Irish Republican Brotherhood, who believe violence is the path to restoring Irish Home Rule.

For Scotland Yard Inspector Michael Corravan, born in Ireland and adopted by the Irish Doyle family, the case presents a challenge. Accused by the Home Office of willfully disregarding the obvious conclusion, and berated by his Irish friends for bowing to prejudice, Corravan doggedly pursues the truth, knowing that if the Princess Alice disaster is pinned on the IRB, hopes for Home Rule could be dashed forever.

Corrovan’s dilemma is compounded by Colin, the youngest Doyle, who has joined James McCabe’s Irish gang. As violence in Whitechapel rises, Corravan strikes a deal with McCabe to get Colin out of harm’s way. But unbeknownst to Corravan, Colin bears longstanding resentments against his adopted brother and scorns his help.

As the newspapers link the IRB to further accidents, London threatens to devolve into terror and chaos. With the help of his young colleague, the loyal Mr. Stiles, and his friend Belinda Gale, Corravan uncovers the harrowing truth—one that will shake his faith in his countrymen, the law, and himself.

“The tragic crash of the Princess Alice makes for a thrilling set piece in the triumphant return of Inspector Michael Corravan. When the disaster is dubbed an act of terrorism, the Irish-born Corravan goes back to his old neighborhood of Whitechapel to investigate. He finds “the Chapel” much changed by gangs, prejudice, and violence which threatens to engulf the people he loves and the city of London itself. Rich in emotion and historical detail, Under a Veiled Moon is a brilliant tale of the dark, thorny places where the personal and the political intertwine.” —Mariah Fredericks, award-nominated author of the Jane Prescott series

About the Author

Karen Odden earned her Ph.D. in English from New York University and subsequently taught literature at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. She has contributed essays to numerous books and journals, written introductions for Victorian novels in the Barnes & Noble classics series, and edited for the journal Victorian Literature and Culture (Cambridge UP). Her previous novels, also set in 1870s London, have won awards for historical fiction and mystery. A member of Mystery Writers of America and Sisters in Crime and the recipient of a grant from the Arizona Commission on the Arts, Karen lives in Arizona with her family and her rescue beagle Rosy.

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