On tour with The Coffee Pot Book Club — The Fortune Keeper by Deborah Swift #FortuneKeeper #HistoricalFiction #BlogTour @swiftstory @cathiedunn

 I can't believe that the last time Deborah Swift was on my blog was in 2021 - where on earth does the time go?  Swift writes the most emotional heart-wrenching novels and of course, that means she is one of my favourite authors. So, it is with the greatest pleasure that I welcome Deborah back onto Oh Look, Another Book!

The Fortune Keeper 
By Deborah Swift

Count your nights by stars, not shadows ~ Italian Proverb

Winter in Renaissance Venice

Mia Caiozzi is determined to discover her destiny by studying the science of astronomy. But her stepmother Giulia forbids her to engage in this occupation, fearing it will lead her into danger. The ideas of Galileo are banned by the Inquisition, so Mia must study in secret.

Giulia's real name is Giulia Tofana, renowned for her poison Aqua Tofana, and she is in hiding from the Duke de Verdi's family who are intent on revenge for the death of their brother. Giulia insists Mia should live quietly out of public view. If not, it could threaten them all. But Mia doesn't understand this, and rebels against Giulia, determined to go her own way.

When the two secret lives collide, it has far-reaching and fatal consequences that will change Mia's life forever.

Set amongst opulent palazzos and shimmering canals, The Fortune Keeper is the third novel of adventure and romance based on the life and legend of Giulia Tofana, the famous poisoner.

'Her characters are so real they linger in the mind long after the book is back on the shelf'

~ Historical Novel Society

NB This is the third in a series but can stand alone as it features a new protagonist. Other two books are available if reviewers want them.

Trigger Warnings:

Murder and violence in keeping with the era.

Doesn't this book sounds utterly amazing?! You can grab your copy over on Amazon. And check this out, if you have #KindleUnlimited then you can read for free!

Deborah Swift

Deborah Swift is a USA TODAY bestselling author who is passionate about the past. Deborah used to be a costume designer for the BBC, before becoming a writer. Now she lives in an old English school house in a village full of 17th Century houses, near the glorious Lake District. Deborah has an award-winning historical fiction blog at her website www.deborahswift.com.

Deborah loves to write about how extraordinary events in history have transformed the lives of ordinary people, and how the events of the past can live on in her books and still resonate today. 

The first in her series about the Renaissance poisoner Giulia Tofana, The Poison Keeper, was a winner of the Wishing Shelf Book of the Decade, and a Coffee Pot Book Club Gold Medal, and the latest in her WW2 Secret Agent series, Operation Tulip, is coming soon.

Social Media Links

Website, Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, BookBub, Amazon

Tour Schedule

On tour with The Coffee Pot Book Club — Murder on West Main by I. M. Foster #HistoricalMystery #CozyMystery #BlogTour #TheCoffeePotBookClub @IMFosterMystery @cathiedunn

"He touched the lawyer's neck, searching for a pulse, but he already knew the answer."

Do you enjoy a good historical mystery? If you answer "yes" then check this book out!

Murder on West Main 
By I. M. Foster

When Colin Brissedon arrives at work one summer morning to find his new boss murdered, all eyes turn to him. After all, the man had threatened to fire him just a few days before, and his colleagues are more than happy to tell the tale. Kathleen admits her brother is no angel, but she can’t believe he would sink this low. Fortunately for them, neither does Daniel O’Halleran, the village’s new coroner’s assistant. Of course, he needs more than his gut feeling to prove it.

But that’s not going to be an easy task, considering the victim does not appear to have been held in high regard. In fact, Daniel is hard-pressed to find anyone who did like him, though there are more than a few who had reason to wish the man dead. To make matters worse, Kathleen is intent on conducting her own investigation despite his wishes, and he fears the consequences could be deadly.

And yet, with the pieces of the puzzle laid before him, he can’t shake the feeling that something is missing, an integral clue that will tie everything else together. Will Daniel be able to find the elusive detail and discover the reason behind the gruesome murder of the prominent attorney? Or will the guilty party live to kill again?

Doesn't this book sounds utterly amazing?! You can grab your copy over on Amazon! And get this, if you have #Kindleunlimted then it's free to read.

I. M. Foster

I. M. Foster is the pen name author Inez Foster uses to write her South Shore Mystery series, set on Edwardian Long Island. Inez also writes historical romances under the pseudonym Andrea Matthews, and has so far published two series in that genre: the Thunder on the Moor series, a time-travel romance set on the 16th century Anglo-Scottish Borders, and the Cross of Ciaran series, which follows the adventures of a fifth century Celt who finds himself in love with a twentieth century archaeologist.

Inez is a historian and librarian, who love to read and write and search around for her roots, genealogically speaking. She has a BA in History and an MLS in Library Science and enjoys the research almost as much as she does writing the story. In fact, many of her ideas come to her while doing casual research or digging into her family history. Inez is a member of the Long Island Romance Writers, and the Historical Novel Society.

Social Media

Links:, Website, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, BookBub, Amazon Author Page, Goodreads 

Tour Schedule

On tour with The Coffee Pot Book Club — Rolling Home: A Pioneer Western Adventure by David Fitz-Gerald #WesternFiction #WesternAdventure #AmericanWest @AuthorDAVIDFG @cathiedunn

Oh look, it is another book in the Ghosts Along the Oregon Trail, how exciting is that! Scroll down and check out the latest book from author, David Fitz-Gerald.

Rolling Home: A Pioneer Western Adventure
By David Fitz-Gerald

Climb aboard! Don't miss the heart-pounding climax of the Ghosts Along the Oregon Trail series. Rolling Home is the final installment.

In the heart of the rolling village, dissent brews as the stubbornest naysayer refuses to continue the journey. With an ominous early snowfall and memories of the ill-fated Donner Party haunting the pioneers, Dorcas Moon faces a new wave of challenges. Just when she believes things can't get worse, a disastrous river crossing claims their wagon and submerges their belongings.

As the rolling village approaches the final leg of the journey, the looming threat of outlaws intensifies. The notorious bandit known as The Viper and his ruthless brothers are determined to rob the greenhorns, sell their stock, and kill every last one of them. The pioneers had heard tales of their brutality, but now, with Dorcas' daughter kidnapped and Dorcas captured, everyone is in danger.

What will become of Dorcas Moon, her family, and their friends? Will anyone survive the perilous journey?

Rejoin the expedition and witness the thrilling end to a gripping saga.

If this book sounds like your cup of tea then you know what to do, head over to Amazon!

David Fitz-Gerald  

David Fitz-Gerald writes westerns and historical fiction. He is the author of twelve books, including the brand-new series, Ghosts Along the Oregon Trail set in 1850. Dave is a multiple Laramie Award, first place, best in category winner; a Blue Ribbon Chanticleerian; a member of Western Writers of America; and a member of the Historical Novel Society.

Alpine landscapes and flashy horses always catch Dave’s eye and turn his head. He is also an Adirondack 46-er, which means that he has hiked to the summit of the range’s highest peaks. As a mountaineer, he’s happiest at an elevation of over four thousand feet above sea level.

Dave is a lifelong fan of western fiction, landscapes, movies, and music. It should be no surprise that Dave delights in placing memorable characters on treacherous trails, mountain tops, and on the backs of wild horses.

Social Media Links:

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Tour Schedule

On tour with The Coffee Pot Book Club — Katharine’s Remarkable Road Trip by Gail Ward Olmsted #HistoricalFiction #CivilWarNurses #BiographicalFiction @gwolmsted @cathiedunn

 

Are you ready for a road trip? 

If the answer is yes, then check out Katharine’s Remarkable Road Trip by Gail Ward Olmsted. Scroll down to read a short excerpt from the book.

Katharine’s Remarkable Road Trip
By Gail Ward Olmsted

In the fall of 1907, Katharine decides to drive from Newport, Rhode Island, to her home in Jackson, New Hampshire. Despite the concerns of her family and friends, that at the age of 77 she lacks the stamina for the nearly 300-mile journey, Katharine sets out alone. Over the next six days, she receives a marriage proposal, pulls an all-nighter, saves a life or two, crashes a high-society event, meets a kindred spirit, faces a former rival, makes a new friend, takes a stroll with a future movie mogul, advises a troubled newlywed, and reflects upon a life well lived; her own! 

Join her as she embarks upon her remarkable road trip.

Katharine Prescott Wormeley (1830-1908) was born into affluence in England and emigrated to the U. S. at the age of eighteen. Fiercely independent and never married, Kate volunteered as a nurse on a medical ship during the Civil War, before founding a vocational school for underprivileged girls. A lifelong friend and trusted confidante of landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted, she was a philanthropist, a hospital administrator, and the author of The Other Side of War: 1862, as well as the noted translator of dozens of novels written by French authors, including Moliere and Balzac. She is included in History’s Women: The Unsung Heroines; History of American Women: Civil War Women; Who’s Who in America 1908-09; Notable American Women, A Biographical Dictionary: 1607-1950 and A Woman of the 19th Century: Leading American Women in All Walks of Life. 

Excerpt

On her working relationship with Frederick Law Olmsted, Executive Secretary of the United State Sanitary Commission

Working for Mr. Olmsted, as I continued to call him for a time before he insisted that I call him Fred, was never dull, an understatement if ever I’d made one. He was mostly affable and pleasant to deal with, but his rule was absolute and no one dared to question any of his decisions. Some of the staff appeared to walk on eggshells when he was around, but not me. 

Of course, I was always respectful and exceedingly polite, but I’d had no issue with asking for clarification of a direct order, requesting minor changes to policies and procedures, and asking, as needed, for forgiveness instead of permission. He was, to my mind, always fair and courteous. I had no issue with forgiving his occasional lapse into a thorough dressing down of the random worker or two when their behavior had negatively affected one of our patients. I would have liked to give the offender a thorough tongue-lashing of my own, but I knew my role on board and it was not that of an enforcer of the rules nor was I allowed to mete out any punishment. I was there solely for the purpose of assisting the doctors in our efforts to improve the health and lives of the wounded men. And that was fine with me. 

Doesn't this book sounds utterly amazing?! If you would like to grab your copy, head over to Amazon. If you have #KindleUnlimited subscription then you can read it for free!

Gail Ward Olmsted

Gail Ward Olmsted was a marketing executive and a college professor before she began writing fiction on a fulltime basis. A trip to Sedona, AZ inspired her first novel Jeep Tour. Three more novels followed before she began Landscape of a Marriage, a biographical work of fiction featuring landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted, a distant cousin of her husband’s, and his wife Mary. After penning a pair of contemporary novels featuring a disgraced attorney seeking a career comeback (Miranda Writes, Miranda Nights) she is back to writing historical fiction featuring an incredible woman with an amazing story.

Social Media Links:

Website, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, BookBub, Amazon Author Page, Goodreads

Tour Schedule

On tour with The Coffee Pot Book Club — Shire's Union Trilogy by Richard Buxton #AmericanCivilWar #Historical Fiction #BlogTour @RichardBuxton65 @cathiedunn

You can not consider yourself a proper bookworm unless you have, at one point, got totally lost in a series. So, if you are looking for your next historical fiction series then why not check out Shire's Union Trilogy by Richard Buxton. It is set during the American Civil War and one of the books has been shortlisted for Rubery International Book Award.

Scroll down to find out more!

Whirligig (Book 1)

Shire leaves his home and his life in Victorian England for the sake of a childhood promise, a promise that pulls him into the bleeding heart of the American Civil War. Lost in the bloody battlefields of the West, he discovers a second home for his loyalty.

Clara believes she has escaped from a predictable future of obligation and privilege, but her new life in the Appalachian Hills of Tennessee is decaying around her. In the mansion of Comrie, long hidden secrets are being slowly exhumed by a war that creeps ever closer.

The Shire’s Union trilogy is at once an outsider’s odyssey through the battle for Tennessee, a touching story of impossible love, and a portrait of America at war with itself. Self-interest and conflict, betrayal and passion, all fuse into a fateful climax.

Written by award-winning author Richard Buxton, the Shire’s Union trilogy begins with Whirligig, is continued in The Copper Road, and concludes with Tigers in Blue.

The Copper Road (Book #2)

Shire is far, far from home, his old life in Victorian England a fading memory. He’s battled through war-torn America to keep a cherished promise to his childhood companion. Now she’s pushing him away, while the war won’t let him go. Fighting for the Union, Shire must survive the brutal campaign for Atlanta and try to imagine a future without her.

Clara is free from her husband but not from his ghost. After a violent end to an abusive marriage, she struggles to keep her home in the Tennessee hills as the war steals away its treasures and its people.

Tod, a captured Rebel, escapes in Pennsylvania. His encounters on the long road back to his regiment cast the Civil War in a different light. He begins to question his will to fight. Three young lives become wrapped in the Rebels’ desperate need for copper. Friendships, loyalty and love will be tested beyond breaking point. Shire has new promises to keep.

The Copper Road is the second novel from award winning writer Richard Buxton. Book one of Shire’s Union, Whirligig, was shortlisted for the Rubery International Book Award.

Tigers in Blue (Book #3)

Two brutal years in America’s civil war have made a veteran of Shire; his younger English self buried beneath scars and unwanted memories. Unable to help, he watches as Tuck – his Union brother-in-arms – retreats from reality. Both the war and Shire’s heart relentlessly circle him back to Clara, his childhood love. He needs to believe they can share a life beyond the war.

Clara’s home is in ashes. Shire has left her once again to rejoin the fighting further south. She moves west in search of a new start and a past love.

Captain Tod Carter rides with the Confederate Army. He’s obliged to watch over a young lieutenant, fresh to the war and with too many questions; questions that loom large as the army crosses into Tennessee, marching ever closer to Tod’s family.

The western war sweeps towards its climax. The Rebels must risk all in one final campaign. Armies, lives and loves collide to decide who will find their home, and who will find a shallow grave.

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Doesn't this series sound amazing?! If like me, you are in the UK then you can purchase your copy of the series on Amazon UK. If you live across the pond then head over to Amazon US

*

Richard Buxton

Richard lives with his family in the South Downs, Sussex, England. He completed an MA in Creative Writing at Chichester University in 2014. He has an abiding relationship with America, having studied at Syracuse University, New York State, in the late eighties. He travels extensively for research, especially in Tennessee, Georgia and Ohio, and is rarely happier than when setting off from a motel to spend the day wandering a battlefield or imagining the past close beside the churning wheel of a paddle steamer.

Richard’s short stories have won the Exeter Story Prize, the Bedford International Writing Competition and the Nivalis Short Story Award. His first novel, Whirligig (2017) was shortlisted for the Rubery International Book Award. It was followed by The Copper Road (2020) and the Shire’s Union trilogy was completed by Tigers in Blue (2023).

Social Media Links:

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Instagram 

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On tour with The Coffee Pot Book Club — The Sand Vines by Michèle Callard #HistoricalFiction #HistoricalRomance @cathiedunn

If you are looking for your next great read then stop what you are doing and check out The Sand Vines by Michèle Callard.

Scroll down to find out more!

The Sand Vines

By Michèle Callard

Bordeaux 1870 – Life is hard on the moor.

If Flore, a shepherd’s daughter, is not married by autumn, she must go into service and lose everything she holds dear.

Back form the French army, the dashing Ricar has set her heart and body on fire. Will he propose to her before it is too late?

Martial the viscount’s son adores Flore from afar. Aware that she can never be his. When a betrayal and a forest fire put Flore in danger, Martial seizes his chance, grabs her hand and takes her to safety far away in the north of France, hoping they might start afresh, but war looms. . .

Will it bring them together or tear them apart?

Excerpt

Balloons above, rats below

Martial, Jules and Mary were walking home from the soup kitchen. They had kept people alive for another day but how long could this siege go on? A freezing fog fuzzed the harsh edges of the Parisian winter. Inside the thick cottonwool cloud, sporadic noises intensified, ghostly figures stirred in the greyness, but what struck Martial was not so much what he could hear, but the sounds that had gone: the clatter of hoofs, the shouts of drivers, oaths, creaking wheels, the cries of hawkers and the hurdy-gurdies of street singers. 

Paris was silent. All that remained were the shuffle of clogs, the pointless marching of national guards, and the clippety-clop of the last horses spared for pulling hearses. 

A street urchin popped in front of him. ‘Father Martial?’ 

‘Jojo!’ Martial’s face broke into a grin. ‘Bon sang, you gave me a fright. Where did you spring from?’ He remembered the boy. A regular attendee of the soup kitchen he patronised, Jojo was famous for his quips and irreverent songs. 

‘I’m doing fine, Father. Really well, in fact.’ Jojo threw Mary a side glance and winked. ‘She the doctor’s girlfriend?’

‘The lady is a doctor too. An American doctor.’

Jojo let out a slow whistle of admiration. After a few seconds, he said with a grin, ‘Want to see where I live?’

‘You’ve found a place to stay?’ Martial’s question remained unanswered. Jojo had disappeared.

Mary and Jules searched around the tall white façades, their wrought-iron balconies visible in the mist. 

‘Psst!’ A hirsute head popped up, level with the pavement. 

‘Saperlipopette!’ Jules pulled up his trousers and peered down.

‘Come, Father, Monsieur Jules. I’ll show you.’ The boy hesitated. ‘Not sure about having a lady down there.’ He grinned, uncovering a missing tooth. ‘Mind you, before the siege, ladies did pay a fair few sous to visit the sewers. Over the water they trundled, in a little train pulled by a horse. The King of Protudal even went down there.’

‘The King of Portugal indeed?’ Martial smiled at Jojo, King of the Sewers. ‘Doesn’t it get smelly down there?’

Jules peered down. 

‘Come and have a sniff for yourself, monsieur.’ 

Jules’s grey hat disappeared below the pavement. Mary tucked up her skirt and followed him down the ladder. 

Martial stepped down carefully and stood mouth open.

‘Bienvenue chez moi!’

A vast dome glimmered in the strange light that filtered from the grilles along the walls, reflecting a tidy canal. Fourteen feet high and very wide, the space radiated calm, only disturbed by the odd plop. The fetid air was warmer than outside, and in a corner, Jojo had decorated his living quarters with an artistic installation of scavenged objects. Milk churns mostly.

Scrabbles and squeaks rose from one of them. Mary took a step, peered into it and shot back. ‘Gee whillikers! Rats!’

‘Eh oui, madame.’ Jojo pulled the plank that leaned against the churn.  

‘Corne tonnerre, boy, do you catch them to sell?’ Jules cautiously glanced into the tall metal receptacle and called Martial over. 

Rats were scrabbling on top of each other, covered in a shiny substance. Using the bodies of the weaker ones as launching pads, the stronger ones jumped but never reached the top.

‘I catch them with sugar.’ Jojo beamed. ‘We’ve a shortage of everything, but Paris has enough sugar and booze to last a whole year. Rats smell it, run up this plank and—’ A lid swivelled around a piece of doweling. ‘Woosh! The lid tilts and they fall in. All I have to do is skin ’em, thread ’em onto a stick and sell ’em as brochettes.’

‘Yes,’ Martial said weakly. ‘I saw them at the butcher’s.’

‘I can deliver a few to your house tomorrow if you want. I’m sold out at the moment.’

‘Thank you, Jojo,’ Martial replied diplomatically. ‘I’m sure you’ll find customers who will appreciate them more than we might.’

‘For sure. The gentlemen from the ’cademy did a blindfold test, you know, between rat, cat, dog and bird, and they all agreed that rat was the best meat. I preficted the method to catch ’em, and I’m taking orders. The other day, I even sold some to a cook from a big restaurant. Made them into a terrine with spitachio, he said, and champagne. I peeped inside that place when I was delivering. Very grand. Gold everywhere. He gave me some bread. White bread too, and us three months into the siege.’

‘Can’t say I even remember the taste of white bread,’ Jules muttered. 

Doesn't this book sounds utterly amazing?! You can grab your copy over on Amazon

Michèle Callard

Michèle Callard grew up in France. A country girl at heart, she swapped her Paris flat for a cottage in rural England where she lives with her Irish husband and the youngest of her three sons.

She writes fast-paced novels set in different regions of France, bursting with authentic characters, colours, flavours and history.

Social Media Links: 

Website, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, Pinterest, BookBub, Amazon Author Page, Goodreads

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Book review of Steinar (The Wolves of Clan Sutherland Book 3) by Mary Morgan

Scroll down to read my 5 STAR review of Steinar (The Wolves of Clan Sutherland Book 3) by Mary Morgan.

Steinar

(The Wolves of Clan Sutherland Book 3) 

By Mary Morgan

Descended from the mighty Somerled, Lord of the Isles, Steinar MacDougall’s supremacy over the seas is fierce. On a quest for King William, he is captured by the enemy and presented with a favorable opportunity. Yet Steinar soon realizes his greatest threat comes from the woman who hides behind the mask of a warrior, and the quest for control might send them hurdling into the abyss of the sea.

As leader of the Serpents, Inga the Ruthless travels beyond the isles bartering for goods with her brothers. After rescuing the feared Pirate Wolf during a storm, she surrenders her trust to the man and his inner wolf in order to claim the lost treasure of Odin. Though the journey is fraught with dangers, Inga fears her heart might be the one in peril, leading her to make the ultimate sacrifice.

Will the sea be their salvation or doom them to a watery grave?

A Pirate Wolf and the leader of the Serpents, two opposing forces, are thrown together by circumstances. What could go wrong?

I saw this book featured on my favourite book blog (Yarde Books - if anyone is interested) and I was totally intrigued. And although romance isn't my usual go-to genre, I thought this book sounded like it could be a lot of fun. I mean, two enemies, both on the same quest, who so happen to be deeply attracted to each other, it has all the makings of a brilliant read. and a brilliant read it was. The story is filled with action, magic and some rather steamy sex scenes that made me blush!

I am really looking forward to going back and reading the other books in the series. If they are as good as this one then I am really going to be in for a treat. 

If, after reading my review, you would like to check out this book fory ourself you can find it on Amazon.

Mary Morgan

Mary Morgan is an international best-selling author of award-winning historical fantasy and paranormal romance novels. During her research travels with her knight in shining armor to England, Ireland, and Scotland, she left a part of her soul in one of these countries and vows to return.

Her passion for books started at an early age along with an overactive imagination. Inspired by her love for history and ancient Celtic and Norse mythology, Mary's tales are filled with powerful warriors, brave women, magic, and romance. If you enjoy history, tortured heroes, and a wee bit of fantasy, then journey back in time within the pages of her books.