My review of Two Fatherlands (A Reschen Valley Novel Part 4) by Chrystyna Lucyk-Berger #BookReview #HistoricalFiction @ckalyna @maryanneyarde

Two Fatherlands 

(A Reschen Valley Novel Part 4)

By Chrystyna Lucyk-Berger

It's a dangerous time to be a dissident...

1938. Northern Italy. Since saving Angelo Grimani's life 18 years earlier, Katharina is grappling with how their lives have since been entwined. Construction on the Reschen Lake reservoir begins and the Reschen Valley community is torn apart into two fronts - those who want to stay no matter what comes, and those who hold out hope that Hitler will bring Tyrol back into the fold.

Back in Bolzano, Angelo finds one fascist politician who may have the power to help Katharina and her community, but there is a group of corrupt players eager to have a piece of him. When they realise that Angelo and Katharina are joining forces, they turn to a strategy of conquering and dividing to weaken both the community and Angelo's efforts.

Meanwhile, the daughter Angelo shares with Katharina - Annamarie - has fled to Austria to pursue her acting career but the past she is running away from lands her directly into the arms of a new adversary: the Nazis. She goes as far as Berlin, and as far as Goebbels, to pursue her dreams, only to realise that Germany is darker than any place she's been before.

Angelo puts aside his prejudices and seeks alliances with old enemies; Katharina finds ingenious ways to preserve what is left of her community, and Annamarie wrests herself from the black forces of Nazism with plans to return home. But when Hitler and Mussolini present the Tyroleans with “The Option”, the residents are forced to choose between Italian and German nationhood with no guarantee that they will be able to stay in Tyrol at all!

Out of the ruins of war, will they be able to find their way back to one another and pick up the pieces?

This blockbuster finale will keep readers glued to the pages. Early readers are calling it, "...engrossing", "...enlightening" and "...both a heartbreaking and uplifting end to this incredible series!"

Publication Date: April 13, 2021
Publisher: Inktreks/Lucyk-Berger
Page Length: 636 Pages
Genre: Historical Fiction (WW2)

MY THOUGHTS

Progress? Is that a good enough excuse to evict people from their homes? It has been decided that the Reschen Valley is to be turned into a new reservoir. Katharina is determined to stop the dam from being built and thus flooding their homes.

In Austria, Katharina's daughter, Annamarie, is desperately chasing her dreams. She longs to become to an actress, acting in films or on stage. She has friends, people she believes she can trust, but her life takes a turn when she is offered a job with the Bund Deutsher Mädel (BDM). She would make money, enough to fund her acting lessons, and she willingly registers as a party member. Her dreams are in sight, and she is unaware of where such a path will lead.

There is one tie remaining between Katharina and Angelo Grimani, and that is Annamarie, their daughter. Despite Katharina's husband, Florian, raising Annamarie as his own, there is no denying her true parentage. His daughter's existence and his abandonment of Katharina all those years ago is what gives him the incentive, or rather what gives Katharina a truth to hold him to, to help the inhabitants of the Reschen Valley. 

With the carabinieri making any excuse to arrest people, bring them in for questioning, or to destroy some aspect of someone's life, and her eldest son causing trouble, Katharina has a right to be concerned. Her youngest son, Manuel, may be just like her, but Bernd attracts trouble, or rather he goes searching for it. Getting involved with the carabinieri one too many times will be his downfall if he is not careful, yet he refuses to listen to his parents or learn from his actions. His stubborn trait, not to mention falling in with the wrong kind of people who encourage the behaviour that Katharina tries so hard to discourage, means it is near on impossible to make him listen. Katharina's frustration is understandable, but she is determined to keep trying, to not give up on him. If she could only teach him, get him to realise the errors of his ways, he would realise that violence is not always the answer. If she could just make him see, then maybe her son will stay out of trouble, and his life will be less likely to end in bloodshed or in a cell.

Annamarie's perspective shows the Nazi Party's persuasive techniques and how they could manipulate a person's viewpoint. Annamari has her dreams, and she will do what she can to achieve them, but she still has morals. When she joins the BDM, she needs papers from her parents to prove her lineage, but she refuses to speak to them. She asks, instead, through a relative, and when the papers do not arrive, she can only assume that her mother is withholding them from her to be spiteful, to stubbornly prove her own point. Annamarie's friends are a mixed group of people, but the ideology of the Nazi Party begins to cloud her mind. Annamarie is so wrapped up in the thought of achieving her dreams that she fails to grasp the significance of what is happening around her.

Angelo is another conflicted character. He wants to divorce from his wife — he has been asking for one for a very long time. And now his son refuses to speak to him. He is trapped. And he also feels duty-bound to keep his promise to Katharina. But that is proving easier said than done.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this and cannot wait to get my hands on the previous books in this series to read how this story started now that I know how it ends.

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Chrystyna Lucyk-Berger

Chrystyna Lucyk-Berger is an American author living in Austria. Her focus is on historical fiction. She has been a managing editor for a magazine publishing house, has worked as an editor, and has won several awards for her travel narrative, flash fiction and short stories. She lives with her husband in a “Grizzly Adams” hut in the Alps, just as she’d always dreamt she would when she was a child.

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Read an excerpt from Runaway Train by Lee Matthew Goldberg #YoungAdult #Contemporary #Excerpt #NewRelease @LeeMatthewG @XpressoTours

Runaway Train

By Lee Matthew Goldberg

They told me I was an out-of-control train about to crash…

Everything changed when the police officer knocked on the door to tell me – a 16-year-old – that my older sister Kristen had died of a brain aneurysm. Cue the start of my parents neglecting me and my whole life spiraling out of control.

I decided now was the perfect time to skip town. It’s the early 90’s, Kurt Cobain runs the grunge music scene and I just experienced some serious trauma. What’s a girl supposed to do? I didn’t want to end up like Kristen, so I grabbed my bucket list, turned up my mixtape of the greatest 90’s hits and fled L.A.. The goal was to end up at Kurt Cobain’s house in Seattle, but I never could have guessed what would happen along the way.

At turns heartbreaking, inspiring, and laugh out loud funny, Runaway Train is a wild journey of a bygone era and a portrait of a one-of-a-kind teenage girl trying to find herself again the only way she knows how.

Publication date: April 29th 2021

Genres: Contemporary, Young Adult

Out now!

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EXCERPT 

I’m still high after leaving Winter’s house and decide to just drive around and around as the sun sets beyond the hills coating the sky orange and purple. I adjust the rearview mirror to apply my MAC Viva Glam Taupe Lipstick with brown lip liner and take a moment to assess myself. My hair has been dyed so many colors it appears clumpy and lifeless. The baby fat has finally fled from my cheeks, but my chin still looks weak (thanks Mom), unlike Dad or Kristen’s strong jaw. My smile makes me resemble a chipmunk, and no one would ever call me beautiful, pretty maybe if I spend hours doing my makeup, but most likely, simply cute. Again, like a chipmunk. 

I hit play on my mixtape and “Runaway Train” blasts. I roll up the windows so I can sing it loud without feeling embarrassed, belting the chorus that coincides with my upcoming journey, my flight to nowhere and everywhere at the same time. I’ve got the courage to run away now, but what would happen once I come down from my high? I’ll likely curl up in bed to the sounds of In Utero, solely on my Walkman since Mom had freakin’ broken my stereo. 

I arrive home during Mazzy Star’s luscious and mournful “Fade Into You.” When I walk through the front door, Mom and Dad are waiting on opposite couches. Dad clears his throat.

“Park it, Scrap,” he says, a nickname that used to be endearing when I was little, but now indicates how little he’s involved in my life. I’m just a scrap to him, leftovers on a plate. 

Dad has a sweep of silver hair that might have been called dashing like a movie star, but his tired, weighed-down eyes keep him ordinary. Winter once said that from far away he looks like Richard Gere in Pretty Woman and that she’d “do him.” I responded by punching her in her big boob.

Mom gives a shy wave, as if we’re old friends reuniting. I don’t even bother to check if I give off a weed odor. Screw ‘em both. 

“I know about your mother and Mr. Ferguson,” Dad says. He doesn’t sigh like I expect him to; he explains their tryst like he’s rattling off what we’re having for dinner. “I have been seeing someone else as well. Annette.”

I scrunch my face up. “Annette?” I picture some over-sexed French lady sharing my father’s office cot after a boink session and feeding him escargot. 

“Your mother and I are getting a divorce.”

An image of Jeremy sashays into my thoughts, hands on hips, and an “I told ya so” pouring from his lips over and over. When I look at Mom, she gives a sobering nod. 

“This is for the best, Nico,” she says, and tries to grab my hand but I whip it away. 

“I’ll be staying with Annette at her place in Los Feliz,” Dad continues. “You won’t have to move.”

“What if I don’t want to live with her,” I say, pointing at my mother like she’s a defendant in a courtroom. That woman!

Mom chews on her lip. “Nico, we don’t want to uproot you. And your father needs time to settle in.”

“I don’t wanna live with him either.”

Finally, the two of them glance at each other, former opponents aligned against a new adversary.

“I’m gonna stay with Winter,” I shout. “Her mom already said it’s okay. They have an extra room.”

“That’s a big imposition,” Dad barks, smoothing down his tie as if we’re in a goddamn business meeting. 

“I’ll help around their house. Edina’s practically begged me. And this isn’t working out so we’ll try it.” 

I stand up like I’m the parent who already made the decision. The allies glance at each other again, neither willing to put up too much of a fight for me.

“O-kay,” they both say in eerie harmony. 

“I just need to pack,” I say. “I’ll be out of your hair tonight.”

“Nico, there’s no rush,” my mom says. She stands up but just teeters in place, afraid to make a move.

I’m holding back tears, refusing to be emotional in front of them. I tell myself to be cold like Dad, a robot in flannel. 

“Why waste any more time,” I say, flapping my arms. “Like, we waste so much time all the time, ya-know? And then one day…”

I mime the action of dropping dead and watch their faces scrunch up in response. 

“So, it’s been fun parental units. I’ll call you in a few days when I’m settled too.”

I spin around to head up the stairs. Out of the corner of my eye, I can see Mom try to come after me, but Dad raises his palm to hold her back. Am I not even worth an argument? I guess fucking not. 

I dash into my room, get out a duffel bag, and throw in everything I think I’d need. My yellow Sports Walkman and a shit ton of batteries. A dozen different band T-shirts and four practically identical flannels, a few various chokers, an off the shoulder leotard, two straight fit jeans, and two jeans shorts that I made by cutting up old pairs, some glitter nail polish, a couple of baby doll dresses, a Jansport backpack, some joints, my fake ID where my name is Sasha Lioni and I go to USC, a bag of makeup and hair dye, a Nirvana poster that I’d tape up in my car, and finally a picture of Kristen and I, nine and ten years old at camp on a trip up to Big Sur, the sun a bright melon ball making us squint, our arms around one another, smiles filled with braces, still innocent and unexposed to any tragedies. 

On my way down, Dad meets me at the bottom of the stairs. He has his gas card in his hand. 

“Use it as much as you need,” he says, tucking it in my jeans pocket. He gives me a pat on the shoulder. I can hear my mother sniffling in the kitchen. I keep my eyes trained to the floor and duck out of there, tossing the duffel bag in the passenger’s seat and roaring off into the night.

Lee Matthew Goldberg is the author of the novels THE ANCESTOR, THE MENTOR, THE DESIRE CARD and SLOW DOWN. He has been published in multiple languages and nominated for the Prix du Polar. His first YA series RUNAWAY TRAIN is forthcoming in 2021 along with a sci-fi novel ORANGE CITY. After graduating with an MFA from the New School, his writing has also appeared in The Millions, Vol. 1 Brooklyn, LitReactor, Monkeybicycle, Fiction Writers Review, Cagibi, Necessary Fiction, the anthology Dirty Boulevard, The Montreal Review, The Adirondack Review, The New Plains Review, Underwood Press and others. He is the editor-in-chief and co-founder of Fringe, dedicated to publishing fiction that’s outside-of-the-box. His pilots and screenplays have been finalists in Script Pipeline, Book Pipeline, Stage 32, We Screenplay, the New York Screenplay, Screencraft, and the Hollywood Screenplay contests. He is the co-curator of The Guerrilla Lit Reading Series and lives in New York City. Follow him at LeeMatthewGoldberg.com

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Cover reveal! Check out the wonderful cover for Tartarus (Queen of the Underworld, #1) by Dani Hoots #Fantasy #YoungAdult #YA #CoverReveal @DaniHootsAuthor @XpressoTours

 

Tartarus

(Queen of the Underworld, #1)

By Dani Hoots

She will stop at nothing to bring her father back.

Chrys has searched all of the Underworld to find a way to open Tartarus and bring her father, Hades, back to life. It was her fault he was sent there and she doesn’t care if she begins the end of the world to save him. Finally finding a clue on how to open the gates to hell itself, she leaves the Underworld and searches for the god Aether.

Will Chrys get the answers she is looking for? Or will she have to live with the guilt for the rest of her eternal life?

Publication date: July 13th 2021
Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult 

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Get your FREE copy of Endangered (Book 1) HERE!

Dani Hoots is a science fiction, fantasy, romance, and young adult author who loves anything with a story. She has a B.S. in Anthropology, a Masters of Urban and Environmental Planning, a Certificate in Novel Writing from Arizona State University, and a BS in Herbal Science from Bastyr University.

Currently she is working on a YA urban fantasy series called Daughter of Hades, a YA urban fantasy series called The Wonderland Chronicles, a historic fantasy vampire series called A World of Vampires, and a YA sci-fi series called Sanshlian Series. She has also started up an indie publishing company called FoxTales Press. She also works with Anthill Studios in creating comics through Antik Comics.

Her hobbies include reading, watching anime, cooking, studying different languages, wire walking, hula hoop, and working with plants. She is also an herbalist and sells her concoctions on FoxCraft Apothecary. She lives in Phoenix with her husband and visits Seattle often.

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How custard inspired historical fiction author, M J Porter! HistoricalFiction #HistoricalMystery #TheCustardCorpses #BlogTour #CoffeePotBookClub @coloursofunison @maryanneyarde

 

The Custard Corpses
By M J Porter

A delicious 1940s mystery.

Birmingham, England, 1943.

While the whine of the air raid sirens might no longer be rousing him from bed every night, a two-decade-old unsolved murder case will ensure that Chief Inspector Mason of Erdington Police Station is about to suffer more sleepless nights.

Young Robert McFarlane’s body was found outside the local church hall on 30th September 1923. But, his cause of death was drowning, and he’d been missing for three days before his body was found. No one was ever arrested for the crime. No answers could ever be given to the grieving family. The unsolved case has haunted Mason ever since.

But, the chance discovery of another victim, with worrying parallels, sets Mason, and his constable, O’Rourke, on a journey that will take them back over twenty-five years, the chance to finally solve the case, while all around them the uncertainty of war continues, impossible to ignore.

Publication Date: March 25th 2021

Publisher: M J Publishing

Genre: Historical Mystery

How custard inspired historical fiction author, 

M J Porter.

Thank you for welcoming me to your blog.

The inspiration behind The Custard Corpses is a bit weird, even I admit that. 

My father has, for many years, bought and sold antique paraphernalia, mostly maps, but also other items as well – books, stamps, old vellum deeds, postcards – you get the idea. With the restrictions last year, he wasn’t able to sell as normal at his antique fairs, and having put off having an online presence, he finally decided to open an eBay shop – but needed tech support. And so, as tech support, he started sending me all sorts of fascinating items to list, but the one that really got me were the advertisements that ran in the Picture Post magazines for Birds Custard.

(Image provided by MJ Porter).

They’re bright, they’re inviting, they are, to put it bluntly, before their time. They have lovely catchphrases, such as ‘every little helps’ which Tesco use now. The black and white images on the coloured background ensure the readers eye is drawn to the happy child, and they do make you want to eat custard. I wanted to share them with as many people as possible so that they could catch a glimpse of these old campaigns. There were other advertisements as well in the magazines, ones for Pepsi and for Shell, to name a few, but it was the Birds Custard ones that really captured my imagination. But how could I share them with people?

Well, my mind words in strange ways, and I began to consider a mystery that would somehow be relevant to the advertisements, so it needed to be set during the period the Picture Post magazine was produced from 1938 to the 1950s. And so, The Custard Corpses.

I set The Custard Corpses during the Second World War, but that was really because it fit with the adverts I’d seen, the added bonus that I could then use the well-known events of the war was a secondary consideration.

Where I set the book was entirely based on the fact that I had family members who’d lived in Erdington at the time. I was able to pick the brains of my Dad for the little details that I didn’t know or couldn’t remember, not that he was born in 1943, but not long after. 

It was all quite random, in the end, and there was a swell of little details that I uncovered that just, through pure happenstance, fitted together. It helped that I wanted to try my hand at something more modern than the eleventh century, but still historical. But I’m not an expert on any other time period, so I suppose it was an easy choice to decide on a setting that was just within living memory of some. I couldn’t visit anywhere due to Lockdown, so familiar was best.

Is this the weirdest reason to have written a book? 

You can purchase your copy of The Custard Corpses at your favourite bookstore, here.

M J Porter

M J Porter writes historical fiction set before 1066. Usually. 

This is M J's first foray into the historical mystery genre and the, relatively recent, twentieth century. 

M J writes A LOT, you've been warned.

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Chateau Laux by David Loux #GuestPost #HistoricalFiction @ChateauLaux @maryanneyarde

 

Chateau Laux
By David Loux

A young entrepreneur from a youthful Philadelphia, chances upon a French aristocrat and his family living on the edge of the frontier. Born to an unwed mother and raised by a disapproving and judgmental grandfather, he is drawn to the close-knit family. As part of his courtship of one of the patriarch’s daughters, he builds a château for her, setting in motion a sequence of events he could not have anticipated.

Publication Date: April 6, 2021

Publisher: Wire Gate Press

Page Length: 292 Pages

Genre: Historical/Literary Fiction

GUEST POST

One of the important historical aspects of Chateau Laux is the complicated role that religion played in southern France over the course of many centuries.  As a species we appear to be hardwired for story, and religion is nothing if it’s not a good story.  The problem is that when stories compete, there are problems.  With religious competition comes apprehension, which leads to superstition and fear.  With fear comes intolerance, which condones atrocities, and religious wars have been known to be particularly brutal.

By the second century of the common era, the Romans had more or less suppressed pagan religions such as Druidism, but the new faith they ushered in had a lot of competition.  Roman Catholicism was not the only faith claiming New Testament provenance, and there were several Christian groups with wildly different theologies that proliferated in the greater Mediterranean region.  Catharism, for instance, had a trinitarian doctrine that would have been unrecognizable to Romans of the time.  Then, the Protestant Reformation added additional nuance to the concept of Christianity.  Beliefs are not just ideas.  They are stories by which people define themselves and by which they live.  They have roots that run deep and which often persist in one form or another.  They can bring people together or set them apart.

Of particular interest to Chateau Laux were the centuries of conflict brought on by these religious differences.  Most people are familiar with France’s harsh treatment of its Protestants, which drove many of its fellow countrymen abroad.  But its earlier treatment of Cathars was far worse.  Enabled by the French crown, the Pope mounted the Albigensian Crusade, which pitted one Christian against another.  Entire villages were massacred due to allegations of religious heresy.  In 1209, the Papal Legate Arnaud Amaury uttered the famous words “Kill them all.  God will know his own,” whereupon a church packed with Catholic and Cathar refugees was burned to the ground.

We Americans have a youthful history that goes back only about 250 years.  As such, we all too frequently find it difficult to understand a cultural longevity that spans a millennia.  We tend to be forward looking and can overlook the hold that a persistent past can have on a people who have been indigenous for a very long time.  We may find it difficult to understand how a religion such as Catharism, which was thought to have been extinguished in the fourteenth century, could still find a place in the hearts and minds of a few tenacious souls.  

Before its brutal suppression, Catharism had a wide following throughout the Languedoc and southern France in general.  Women played a prominent role, and many noble families of the Languedoc had Cathar mothers, wives and daughters.  Additionally, Catharism had deep roots in regional mythos.  According to legend, Mary Magdalene spent her remaining years, after the crucifixion of Christ, in the Mediterranean region of southern France, and Cathars revered her in the same way that other Christians worshipped Christ.

Interesting enough, French Protestantism had much the same geographical footprint as the previous Catharism.  There was a time when Cathars and Catholics might have occupied the same household.  In Chateau Laux, I envision all three faiths in the same family.  While a bit of a stretch, perhaps, this is certainly not outside the bounds of possibility.  As a friend of mine who lived in Toulouse once said, “This part of the world has been a crossroads for a long time.  The people who live here have learned to get along by keeping their secrets well.”

In the New World, the Laux family had the opportunity to thrive in isolation.  But no isolation is complete, and a marriageable daughter introduces the risks associated with a suitor unfamiliar with a family legacy that had evolved over many centuries.  His blunders are tragic.  They have far-reaching consequences.  But in a new world filled with uncommon possibility, how he fares will be subject to what Morris Warden, one of the characters in the novel, calls “the principle of elusive inevitability,” which is the notion that apparent inevitability is in fact subject to so many variables that what ultimately happens is probably something you failed to consider in the first place.

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David Loux

David Loux is a short story writer who has published under pseudonym and served as past board member of California Poets in the Schools. Chateau Laux is his first novel. He lives in the Eastern Sierra with his wife, Lynn.

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My review of The Year We Lived by Virginia Crow #HistoricalFiction #BookReview #CoffeePotBookClub @DaysDyingGlory @CrowvusLit @maryanneyarde

The Year We Lived

By Virginia Crow

It is 1074, 8 years after the fateful Battle of Hastings. Lord Henry De Bois is determined to find the secret community of Robert, an Anglo-Saxon thane. Despite his fervour, all his attempts are met with failure.

When he captures Robert’s young sister, Edith, events are set in motion, affecting everyone involved. Edith is forced into a terrible world of cruelty and deceit, but finds friendship there too.

Will Robert ever learn why Henry hates him so much? Will Edith’s new-found friendships be enough to save her from De Bois? And who is the mysterious stranger in the reedbed who can disappear at will?

A gripping historical fiction with an astonishing twist!

Publication Date: 10th April 2021

Publisher: Crowvus

Page Length: approx. 118,000 words – approx. 350 pages

Genre: Historical Fiction

MY THOUGHTS

Eight years after the Battle of Hastings, Lord Henry De Bois is determined to find out where the Anglo-Saxon thane, Robert is hiding. De Bois would do anything to get to Robert, but Robert’s village is hidden, and De Bois has been unsuccessful in finding it. When Robert’s younger sister, Edith, meets a young man by the reeds, who was to know that, despite the harmless nature of the young man, such a meeting would change the course of all of their futures forever

When De Bois’ men kidnap Edith, she is forced into a life that is so opposite to what she has grown up used to. Instead of being surrounded by people she knows, spending her time outdoors and being in the safety of people who would do anything for her, she is thrown into a place where she knows no one and where cruelty roams freely. While she must suffer under the hands of De Bois, Robert suffers her loss, not knowing where she has gone, or even whether she is still alive.

With mystery, adventure and plots aplenty, Virginia Crow has woven together such an intricate novel of twists and turns that it will give a reader whiplash, she is also the master of plot twists!

The historical setting is commendable. While the man of the reeds, the young Dunstan, is sweet, innocent and peaceful, it is difficult to overlook the side of him that people have been taught to fear, for a changeling shouldn’t be befriended, but burned. Such prejudice, against someone who is so clearly so harmless is heartbreaking to read about, although such occurrences and views were realistic for the historical era and have been presented wonderfully. 

The trials that Edith goes through are, in a way, similar to Dunstans. While Dunstan feels the terror and hatred against him whenever he walks into the village, Edith cannot escape what is thrown at her. She grows through the course of the book, over the timeframe of a year, from a young girl with few cares and so much love in her heart, to a woman who would do anything to save those she loves, despite what she may lose while doing so. Edith was certainly a beautiful character to read about and it tore at my heart as I read about everything she goes through, and how despite all she suffers, she still finds it within herself to love and help those she can. In particular, I came to feel for the fool the same way she did, for he did not deserve all that he was put through and such a life, such threats and humiliation, should have no place in the life of such a man. While he might pretend not to, it was clear that he cared deeply for Edith, and she for him, and both would have done anything they could to protect the other.

While Robert seemed too quick to anger at the start, too eager to snap at those around him, I found myself warming to him as the story progressed. He is quick to judge and wary to trust, but it is such qualities that make him such a keen hunter, one that has protected the location of his community for so long. He is a wonderful leader, and his men trust him inexplicably. His concern over his sister when she goes missing was portrayed beautifully, for although he might not initially show it, he would do anything for her.

There is a huge plot twist at the end of this novel, one that makes you sit back in awe as you realise how perfectly the story has been written. It was as if each individual piece of the story were a piece of a puzzle and from each individual piece, it is impossible to tell what it is showing you. However, when presented with the picture as a whole, each piece became so incredibly obvious, everything slotting into place so perfectly that it is difficult to comprehend how much work has gone into weaving each piece of the story together. Each piece fit together so intricately that, upon reflection, it seems obvious, yet when reading, I was blissfully unaware of how all these characters, seemingly so very different, would come together and paint that picture.

From danger and fear to secrets and mysteries, this novel has something for everyone. This is the kind of book that I would happily read again, just to pick up on all the little details that I might have overlooked, which hinted to the ending.

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Virginia Crow

Virginia grew up in Orkney, using the breath-taking scenery to fuel her imagination and the writing fire within her. Her favourite genres to write are fantasy and historical fiction, sometimes mixing the two together such as her newly-published book "Caledon". She enjoys swashbuckling stories such as the Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas and is still waiting for a screen adaption that lives up to the book!

When she's not writing, Virginia is usually to be found teaching music, and obtained her MLitt in "History of the Highlands and Islands" last year. She believes wholeheartedly in the power of music, especially as a tool of inspiration. She also helps out with the John O'Groats Book Festival which is celebrating its 3rd year this April.

She now lives in the far flung corner of Scotland, soaking in inspiration from the rugged cliffs and miles of sandy beaches. She loves cheese, music and films, but hates mushrooms.

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Read an excerpt from Max and the Spice Thieves (Secrets of the Twilight Djinn #1) by John Peragine #Fantasy #YoungAdult @johnpwriter @XpressoTours

 

Max and the Spice Thieves

(Secrets of the Twilight Djinn #1)

By John Peragine

When his mother goes missing, Max Daybreaker’s world is turned upside down. Luckily, a crew of Spice Pirates, led by the mysterious Captain Cinn, help Max on his dangerous mission across the three seas.

Along the way, an unlikely alliance aids in his search—a teenage warrior queen, a three-eyed seer, and an assassin spy.

Their journey takes them through treacherous lands while facing shapeshifting bears, an ancient witch, harpies, and the nightmarish Djinn, who will stop at nothing to enslave the world.

With every new challenge, Max unlocks the secrets of his unsettling past. Powers awaken within, forcing him to question everything he knows.

Is Max who he thinks he is? Only time and destiny will tell…

Publication date: April 20th 2021

Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult 

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EXCERPT

Tully’s neighing shocked me from slumber. My book was lying open beside me to the page I was reading. 

“Come on, ye old nag,” said a voice near the front of the wagon. “Ye be a good girl and come with me.”

The wagon lurched, and I banged my head on the back of the bench. Even though my mom had told me not to talk to strangers, she’d also told me to protect the wagon. 

“Let me just release this buckle, and then ye can come home with me.”

I stood up from my bed with my fists on my hips. “You get away from Tully! She’s my horse. You better back off.” 

I picked up a leather crop from the bench since it was the only weapon handy. I waved it at the two men standing before the wagon, but they stared at me, unimpressed. I was tall for a twelve-year-old, and my arms and legs looked like sticks. I was strong but not muscular. 

The two men were filthy and wore tattered clothing. The taller of the two held Tully’s reins, and the smaller, portly man was unhooking Tully from the wagon.

“Look at what we have here,” said the taller man. “It’s a young cub.”

Both men laughed, showing their rotten, black teeth.

“You get away from her right now. My mom and . . . and . . . dad will be back any minute. You better leave before they get back, or you’ll get a whipping!” Standing tall with my arms crossed, I glared down at the men.

“Is that so?” said the portly man as he loosened the buckle on Tully’s yoke. “I very much doubt we will be troubled, cub. Your mum’s not comin’ back.”

Tully bucked in an attempt to get away from the men, and the movement made me plop down hard on the bench. 

“What do you mean, my mom’s not coming back? How do you know my mom?” I asked, scrambling to stand.

The portly man grinned with his broken, black teeth. Something was wrong—very wrong. Seagulls cawed high above in the blue sky, signaling morning was well underway. Had I been reading for that long? My heart pounded hard in my chest. Where was Mom? She should have been back already.

Tully was loose from her yoke, and the tall man pulled her reins hard. Tully tried to rear back, but she was too old and weak to make much of a fuss.

“Ah, ye old nag,” the tall man said. “Ye won’t be worth much at market, but maybe a butcher will take ye and sell ye fer dog food.” Both men cackled.

“Listen,” the portly man said, “be a good lad and hand us yer bags from the wagon there. Yer coming with us. We may make some coin, after all.”

“I’m not some dull boy—you can’t boss me around. You need to hook Tully back up this instant . . . or . . . or . . .”

“Or what?” mocked the portly man. “Listen here, ye whelp, ye don’t understand what I’m sayin’. Either ye come down here with yer bags, or I’ll come up there, and then we’ll see how well ye swim.”

The tall man led Tully away in the same direction mom had gone hours before. The portly man grunted as he pulled himself onto the bench and reached for me. But I was a wild animal on fire. I rushed the short, round man while swinging with my crop, catching him by surprise. He toppled but then regained his balance. He grabbed the crop with one hand, tugging hard, then he drew back his other hand to hit me. But there was a loud crack, and he slumped over the bench.

Standing behind the unconscious thief was a man dressed all in black. His beard had a braid in the center held by a gold ring pushed up to his chin, and he wore a gold-and-red sash as a belt tied around his long coat, which was trimmed with silver buttons. On his head was a tri-corner hat with a single white plume. He clutched the handle of a busted oar.

John Peragine is an author of over fourteen books. The Secrets of the Twilight Djinn series was written as a bedtime story for his son Max to cope with medical issues he was facing as a little boy. John is a full-time ghostwriter who lives with his son, wife, and a menagerie of animals on his vineyard overlooking the Mississippi River.

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Read an excerpt from ISAN (International Sensory Assassin Network, #1) By Mary Ting #Dystopian #SciFi #YoungAdult @MaryTing @XpressoTours

ISAN

(International Sensory Assassin Network, #1)

By Mary Ting

THE WORLD HAS CHANGED.

SCIENTISTS WARNED IT WOULD HAPPEN.

Meteors devastated the Earth. World Governments developed plans to help surviving citizens. The United States disbanded and salvageable land was divided into four quadrants—North, South, East, and West—governed by The Remnant Council.

Struggling to survive, seventeen-year-old Ava ends up in juvenile detention, until she is selected for a new life—with a catch. She must be injected with an experimental serum. The results will be life changing. The serum will make her better. To receive the serum, Ava agrees to join a program controlled by ISAN, the International Sensory Assassin Network.

While on a mission, she is abducted by a rebel group led by Rhett and told that not only does she have a history with him, but her entire past is a lie perpetuated by ISAN to ensure her compliance. Unsure of who to trust, Ava must decide if her strangely familiar and handsome captor is her enemy or her savior—and time is running out.

Publication date: May 1st 2018

Genres: Dystopian, Science Fiction, Young Adult 

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EXCERPT

“With Helix, your senses become heightened. You’ll experience an increase in ability—especially the five senses. Images will be sharper, colors brighter, and you’ll see farther. You’ll be stronger. Your reflexes will be faster, and you’ll be able to hear from longer distances. However, your senses will tame a speaking voice not to boom in your ear. The reason why it doesn’t sound like I’m yelling at you.”

“Incredible.” The word barely left my mouth.

“Some lucky ones have more. We call that extrasensory perception. Based on the blood test, I think you might be one of the lucky ones.”

Something flashed. I caught it with my right hand, then another projectile with my left. Again, my reflexes had taken over and when I looked down, I’d caught two golf balls. I gawked, trembling. The hair on my arms rose.

“Like I said, fast reflexes.” His lips spread in satisfaction.

I clenched my jaw and stiffened. “You could’ve hurt me.”

“No, Ava. Helix doesn’t wear off quickly. I’d never hurt you. I bet you feel pretty powerful right now. Pretty special. What if you can do something good with that? What do you say?”

“Are there side effects?”

I rolled the golf balls over my fingertips. I imagined the balls colliding with my face. The thrill of what I had done—there was no denying it made me feel amazing.

Russ slowly curled his lips to a grin. “I like the way you think. It’s been thoroughly tested and we’ve seen no side effects in all the years of the program. We give you just enough to do a job, and then it’s out of your system.”

I nodded.

“So … Will you be joining ISAN today?”

I shivered, not just from the cool draft from the vent, but the thought of being an assassin, even if my victims were criminals. Could I really do it? Trained or no.

My mother’s last words echoed in my mind. When life shoves you down, you get right back up. Be strong. Be brave, Ava. Be someone important.

Oh, Mom, what do I do? I feel so alone and I’m so scared.

My chest caved in. I wanted to burst into a sob, but I slammed it back down. As tears pooled, thoughts of my mother twisted the dagger in my heart. My heart leaked, bleeding from the mountainous pain of missing her, needing her guidance.

I wouldn’t be in juvie, desperate to get out and resort to being an assassin if she were alive. Having no choice, I succumbed to the reality of my life and the cards I had been dealt. I pushed back my shoulders and held up my chin. Boring my eyes into his, I gave him an answer that would change my life forever.

I will be brave, Mother. I will become someone important.

International Bestselling, Award-Winning Author Mary Ting writes soulful, spellbinding stories that excite the imagination and captivate readers all over the world. Her books run a wide range of genres: science fiction, fantasy, and swoon worthy stories. Her storytelling talents have won her a devoted legion of fans and garnered critical praise.

Mary was born in Seoul Korea and resides in Southern California with her husband, two children, and two dogs—Mochi and Mocha. She enjoys oil painting and making jewelry. Becoming an author was a way to grieve the death of her beloved grandmother. After realizing she wanted to become a full-time author, she retired from teaching after twenty years.

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