Special Guest Interview With Cathie Dunn, Author of Love Lost In Time: A gripping dual-timeline mystery

Available on Amazon UK and Amazon US

AD 2018: Languedoc, southern France

Madeleine Winters discovers ancient female bones under her kitchen floor. How did the woman end up buried, all alone, in that particular spot in the Cabardès hills? And why was her back broken?

AD 777: Septimania, on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea

Seventeen-year-old Nanthild must marry Count Bellon of Carcassonne, a Visigoth, as part of his peace agreement with Charlemagne. As a wise-woman, she continues to visit those in need of her help during Bellon's frequent absences. But dangers lurk on her journeys...

Thank you very much, Tony, for hosting me today. I’m delighted to share a glimpse at my work.

I write historical mystery and romance. My novels span several genres: historical fiction, adventures, murder mystery and romantic fiction. I love including historic events, something I always enjoy as a reader. It makes me read up about places and events I didn’t know about, and it’s something I’d like to convey to my own readers: the excitement of discovering something new.

After many years in Scotland, I’m now fortunate to live in Carcassonne, in the Occitanie region in southern France. I’ve always enjoyed living near or in historic places, as it makes research so much easier. Exploring castles and ruins is one of my passions, and I love the sense of time those ancient walls give you. You can imagine people and animals milling about, but also attacks and fights. Both sides of the coin.

Carcassonne

Readers have mentioned that my stories take them to these places, that they get a real sense of the setting. This makes me so happy. And visiting historic sites isn’t exactly a chore, is it?

Now to your questions:

What is your preferred writing routine?

I don’t have one! I probably should have a routine, but I’m not very disciplined. I write mostly in the afternoons, either downstairs in our conservatory overlooking the front garden, or upstairs in the office, from where I can see the walls of the old cité of Carcassonne! Once I start, I find it hard to stop, though.

Before I start a new project, I research the overall timeline, to include some pointers. Then I search for events to add as I go.

What advice do you have for new writers?

Keep writing! Oh, and build up your brand. Yes, an author is a brand, so we need to make sure readers know about us and our writing. And learn as you go. As authors, we never stop learning.

Tell us something unexpected you discovered during your research

The idea to Love Lost in Time came to me during a visit at neighbours in a village where we first lived after our arrival in France from Edinburgh four years ago.

It was late in the evening. The village’s annual fireworks on 14^th July had just ended. We joined our neighbours for a nightcap (which took three hours, but that’s a different story…). As I was chatting about my love of history, Marie came in with a bundle. She unwrapped what turned out to be a cranium and a couple of other bones, likely from an arm and fingers! They were over 1000 years old! My neighbours had them checked.

You can imagine how intrigued I was. They had found the bones under their kitchen floor during renovations.

There had been a Visigoth graveyard nearby, now beneath allotments, but a little further on, not where our houses stood. So how did those bones end up outside the old graveyard? The plot for Love Lost in Time was born.

What are you planning to write next?

I’m working on a murder mystery series called the Loup de Foix Mysteries set in the Languedoc area, although the first instalment begins in Rome during the Lateran Council of 1215. My main character is Loup de Foix. He was the illegitimate son of Count Raymond-Roger of Foix, a well-known orator and supporter of the Cathars.

I’m also working on the long-overdue sequel to Dark Deceit, and I’m plotting a novel set in Paris during the infamous Affair of the Poisons.

Cathie Dunn

# # #

About the Author

Cathie  Dunn has been writing for over twenty years. She studied Creative Writing, with a focus on novel writing, which she now teaches in the south of France. She loves researching for her novels, delving into history books, and visiting castles and historic sites. Cathie's stories have garnered readers' awards and praise from reviewers and readers for their authentic description of the past. is a member of the Historical Novel Society and the Alliance of Independent Authors. After many years in Scotland, Cathie now lives in south-west France with her husband, two cats and a rescue dog. Discover more at Cathie's website http://www.cathiedunn.com and Blog https://cathiedunn.blogspot.com and find her on Facebook, Twitter: @cathiedunn and Bluesky @cathiedunn.bsky.social

Blog Tour: Both Sides of the Pond, My Family’s War, by Barbara Kent Lawrence

Available from Amazon UK and Amazon US

In January of 1939 when Barbara Greene, a beautiful young British actress, met Joe Kennedy, Jr., son of the American Ambassador, she could not have expected that their relationship would lead to her emigrating to the United States and learning to pilot a plane. 

Neither could her brother, Kent, have foreseen his bitter retreat from Dunkirk when he left England in January 1940 to fight in France, or his subsequent service on the frontlines in Cornwall, North Africa, Sicily, and Burma. 

In this intensively researched war story of the author’s family, we also hear the stories of other ordinary people who survived extraordinary circumstances. Richly illustrated with photographs and documents, “Both Sides of the Pond, My Family’s War: 1933 – 1946” is a captivating book.

Praise for Both Sides of the Pond:

"Author Barbara Kent Lawrence weaves a rich tapestry of the lives of her British mother and uncle from 1933 to 1946, before, during, and just after World War II. War stories are very personal. This is such a story, and it offers insight into how two young people navigated difficult years that altered the trajectories of the lives they thought they would live. It is a worthy read, written beautifully. Don’t miss it." ~ Patricia Walkow, Military Writers Society of America

# # #

About the Author

Dr. Lawrence is the author of many articles and nine books, including an award-winning dissertation about the influence of culture on aspirations in Maine.  A former professor, she has taught courses in anthropology and sociology, research, and writing non-fiction and memoir. Lawrence grew up in New York City and Washington D.C., then earned a BA in anthropology from Bennington College, an MA in sociology from New York University, and an Ed.D. in Administration, Policy and Planning from Boston University. When not working she loves to garden, knit, and go for walks, pastimes she learned from her British mother. She lives in Maine and is working on the third novel in her Islands series.  Find out more at https://barbaralawrence.com/  and find Barbara on Facebook and Instagram.

Blog Tour Excerpt: West of Santillane by Brook Allen

Available from Amazon UK and Amazon US

Desperate to escape a mundane future as a Virginia planter’s wife, Julia Hancock seizes her chance for adventure when she wins the heart of American hero William Clark. Though her husband is the famed explorer, Julia embarks on her own thrilling and perilous 

journey of self-discovery.

Excerpt:

Our journey began by flatboat, crossing the Mississippi from St. Louis to docks near Cahokia. From there, we’d head toward Louisville, where we’d enjoy sweet respite with Jonathan, Sarah, and family.

    Built for carrying people and freight, flatboats offered reliable transport down the Ohio in spring and summer and back and forth on the Mississippi and downriver from St. Louis to New Orleans. Still, I always eyed them with a certain trepidation, making sure I was safe in the central part of the boat since they had no guardrails. 

    Halfway across the river, a cold crosswind blew up, so Chloe and I stayed inside the wagon, wrapped up tight together in a blanket while the men readied the mules and horses for debarking. Once off the boats, they’d be hitched to the wagons again. 

    As we approached Illinois, people gathered on the port side, their weight causing the craft to scour the river bottom along shoals near the docks. Chloe and I laughed, feeling the slight bumps accompanied by a scraping sound emanating from the shallow bottom.

    Suddenly, a male voice from the top of the small shelter bellowed, “Slave overboard!”

    Next came Scott’s voice, shouting to Chloe, “Mama, you got Rachel?”

    Chloe’s mouth dropped as she tossed aside our blanket and leaped from the buckboard. “No!” she cried, her voice wavering. “I figured she was with you . . .”

    I jumped down from the wagon too. Even more passengers had gathered portside, eager to get off, with yet more folk queued up on the Illinois dock, standing at the edge of the waterfront, some of them pointing down into the water.

    Dread gripped me.

    The same crewman who had first sounded the alarm shouted again, “Who’s missing a slave girl?”

    Scott and Chloe were fighting their way through the crowd, not making much headway. Most of the flatboat passengers saw that they were slaves and pushed them back, ignoring their distress.

    Chloe shrieked, out of her mind with terror, “Where is she? Rachel, where you at?” 

    To my horror, I saw Will near the edge of the boat, lifting his arm in the midst of all the people, calling, “She’s mine, sir.” Gradually, the crowd parted, allowing him through.

    Scott and Chloe were still caught up behind crowds of passengers, who were only now surging forward toward the gangplank. Bless Chloe, she was panicked, screaming and keening. “Master Clark, is it Rachel? Please, Lord Jesus, don’t let it be Rachel!” She glanced back, searching for me, eyes brimming with tears. “Our girl don’t swim none, Missus Julia…”

    Little Lewis was alone in the wagon, but he’d been asleep, so I sprang forward to comfort my friend. A fear I’d never known gripped my heart with steely fingers, making my breath shallow: a mother’s distress at the thought of losing a child, especially in such a chilling and unforeseen manner. My heart beat in rhythm with Chloe’s—both of us mothers and facing a terror for which no parent was ever prepared.

    Scott was finally at the edge of the flatboat with Will, and the sound that emanated from his throat was something from a nightmare. A moan, long and loud, pierced like that of a banshee over the confusion, carrying over people talking, stepping off the boat, greeting loved ones, calling for their bags, going about their business…

    How was it that life was carrying on in such normalcy when a little child was lost? 

    As tall as he was, I saw Will’s red head bobbing through the crowd toward us. Oh God—he was carrying her—Rachel! Drenched and dripping from her watery fate, she was limp as the cotton rag doll I remember Harriet losing as a child, left outside during a summer storm and hanging over the wrought-iron rail on our back stairwell, soaked and drooping.

    She was also still as stone, blood dripping from her head, staining Will’s cotton shirt. I willed her to lift her head and say something—anything. Still holding Chloe, I shielded her as long as I could, but when she finally saw her daughter, her scream clawed its way up my spine. She ran to Will, and I stood helpless, my emotion spilling its way down my face.

    Chloe snatched Rachel from Will, lowering her to the deck and holding the girl’s bloody head in her hands, swaying from side to side.

    Will crossed over to where I stood. “She must have gotten too near the edge. My best guess is that she lost her balance when we hit ground back there.”

    “She couldn’t swim,” I murmured. “Will—is she—”

    My answer came when arms encircled me, and it wasn’t the one I wanted. “I need to know. Did she drown?”

    His arms gripped me tighter as he spoke softly in my ear. “The boat was docking and crushed her head when she was flailing about. Let’s pray she went quickly.”

    Oh, Sweet Lord…

    “Nooo—” Chloe was on her knees, rocking Rachel’s lifeless form in her arms, her protest a guttural screech at the top of her lungs. Scott stood sobbing behind her, wiping both eyes with his worn, patched shirtsleeves and shaking his head in disbelief. 

    At the sound of their grief, other travelers crossing the gangplank to Illinois stared back at our group, heading on their way and leaving us in our shock. 

    Will released me, turning and walking slowly toward the wagon.

    “Where are you going?” I cried, balling my fists. My tone turned accusatory and bitter. “How can you just leave us to hitch the mules when this has just happened?”

    He stopped in his tracks and turned about to face me, patiently and quietly answering, “Julia, I’m going to the wagon to find something to wrap her in.”

Brook Allen

# # #

About the Author

Brook Allen has a passion for history. Her newest project, West of Santillane, spotlights history from a little closer to home in Botetourt County, Virginia. It’s the story of Julia Hancock, who married famed explorer, William Clark. Each character of this thrilling, adventurous period was researched throughout southwest Virginia and into Kentucky, Missouri, Montana, Idaho, and North Dakota. It launched in March of 2024. Brook belongs to the Historical Novel Society and attends conferences as often as possible to study craft and meet fellow authors. In 2019, her novel Antonius: Son of Rome won a silver medal in the international Reader’s Favorite Book Reviewers Book Awards, then won First Place in the prestigious Chaucer Division in the Chanticleer International Book Awards, 2020. West of Santillane garnered international attention in Summer 2025 by becoming a Silver Medalist in the Independent Publishing Book Awards for best Mid-Atlantic Fiction. Also, it was a finalist for the Virginia Romance Writers Holt Medallion. Most recently, Brook appeared in Season 8 of Blueridge PBS’s WRITE AROUND THE CORNER. Though she graduated from Asbury University with a B.A. in Music Education, Brook has always loved writing. She completed a Masters program at Hollins University with an emphasis in Ancient Roman studies, which helped prepare her for authoring her award-winning Antonius Trilogy. Brook recently retired from public education and her personal interests include travel, cycling, hiking in the woods, reading, and spending downtime with her husband and big, black dog, Jak. She lives in the heart of southwest Virginia in the scenic Blue Ridge Mountains. Find out more at https://www.brookallenauthor.com/ and find Brook on Twitter @1BrookAllen, Facebook and Bluesky @brookallenauthor.bsky.social

Book Launch Spotlight: Lady of Lincoln: A Novel of Nicola de la Haye, the Medieval Heroine History Tried to Forget, by Rachel Elwiss Joyce

Available from Amazon UK and Amazon US

A true story. A forgotten heroine. In a time when women were told to stay silent, could she become the saviour her people need? 12th-century England. Nicola de la Haye wants to do her duty. But though she’s taught a female cannot lead alone, the young noblewoman bristles at the marriage her father has arranged to secure her inheritance. And when an unexpected death leaves her unguided, the impetuous girl shuns the king’s blessing and weds a handsome-but-landless knight.

Harshly fined by Henry II for her unsanctioned union, Nicola struggles to salvage her estates while dealing with devastating betrayals from her husband… and his choice to join rebels in a brewing civil war. Yet after averting a tragedy and gaining the castle garrison’s respect, she still must face the might of powerful men determined to crush her under their will.

Can she survive love, threats, and violent ambition to prove she’s worthy of authority?

In this carefully researched and vividly human series debut, Rachel Elwiss Joyce showcases the complex themes of honour, responsibility, and freedom in the story of a remarkable heroine who men tried to erase from history. And as readers dive into a world defined by violence and turmoil, they’ll be stunned by this courageous young woman’s journey toward greatness.

Lady of Lincoln is the gritty first book in the Nicola de la Haye Series historical fiction saga. If you like richly textured female heroes, courtly drama, and fast-paced intrigue, then you’ll adore Rachel Elwiss Joyce’s gripping true-life tale.

“A towering, epic saga… one of the greats in this genre.” — Readers’ Favorite

“Profoundly moving… Nicola de la Haye shines with determination and emotional depth.”— The Coffee Pot Book Club

“An extraordinary book that shows a woman successfully overcoming the constraints of her time… with wits, will, and an unbreakable spirit.” — The Historical Fiction Company

# # #

About the Author

After a rewarding career in the sciences, Rachel returned to her first love—history and the art of storytelling. Fascinated by the women history neglected, or tried to forget, she creates meticulously researched, emotionally resonant fiction that brings her characters’ stories vividly to life. Her fascination with the past began early. At six years old, she was already inventing tales about medieval women in castles, inspired by her treasured Ladybird books and other picture-rich stories that transported her to another time. By the time she discovered Katherine by Anya Seton as a teenager, she knew the joy and escape that only great historical fiction can bring. Rachel’s two grown-up children still tease her (fondly) about childhoods spent being “dragged” around castles, archaeological sites, and historical re-enactments. For Rachel, history and imagination have always gone hand in hand.There was, however, a long gap between the stories of her childhood and her decision to write her own novel. The spark came when she discovered the remarkable true story of Nicola de la Haye—the first female sheriff of England, who defended Lincoln Castle against a French invasion and became known as “the woman who saved England.” Rachel knew she had found her heroine, and a story she was destined to tell. Rachel lives in the UK, where she continues to explore the lives of women who shaped history but were left out of its pages. Lady of Lincoln is her debut novel, the first book in her Nicola de la Haye Series, with sequels to follow. Find out more at www.rachelelwissjoyce.com and find Rachel on Facebook and 

X/ Twitter: @RachelElwJoyce

Special Guest Post by Wendy J Dunn, Author of Shades of Yellow: Why Write to Trends?

Available from Amazon UK, Amazon US

and Amazon AU

During her battle with illness, Lucy Ellis found solace in writing a novel about the mysterious death of Amy Robsart, the first wife of Robert Dudley, the man who came close to marrying Elizabeth I. 

When my husband sometimes says to me, ‘Why don’t you write something that sells?’, my lips purse tight together, and they stay pursed. Tight. I need to take a long moment before I speak to my non-writing life-partner. It is bad enough that the gatekeepers publish books according to current marketing trends, disregarding so many works of genuine quality, let alone my dear husband believes this is what I should do too.

And I refuse to see not writing to trends as some kind of failure. I have written long enough now to know failure, for me, goes hand in hand with writing without passion to drive me. I know, because I have tried to write to market trends. It just does not work for me, not when writing and completing a novel means a commitment of years. And this is the thing. If I wrote according to current trends, by the time I finished that novel, it would probably prove a pointless exercise because, years later, 

I would expect ‘current trends to be completely different. I am also doubtful about whether the finished novel would end up being a work I would be proud to see published. Is this because I see writing as an art form, or am I too idealistic for my own good because I believe it is vital to write from my heart and soul for my work to have heart and soul?

 
Then I think, why shouldn’t I write from my heart and soul? For me, writing is a calling. It’s what keeps me sane, and I know that is simply because I write about what is important to me. Giving voice to those in the past whose voices were so often erased simply on account of their gender is one reason why I write. It is also what inspires me – what opens the door to my imagination and drives my research. 

In my writing practice, research either reassures or shows me I need to find out something before I can go any further. Nowadays, the need to know guides my Tudor research and prevents losing too much time investigating a fascinating detour. Nevertheless, these research detours present opportunities for accidental discoveries. Omissions and erasures also present powerful story opportunities.

 
So many historical fiction writers I know speak of serendipity that comes out of research – those eureka moments that finally open our eyes to what we are really writing about. Research (and writing) is an adventure. Not only are we going into the unknown, but we are also discovering the unexpected, which enriches us as writers, and therefore our writing. Beyond that, I know the unexpected will often end up being the beating heart of the story I am writing.

 
All this has made writing my life adventure. Writing is the tool that has shaped me – helping me grow and live a life of true fulfilment. Writing has not added a lot of money to my bank account, but it has made me rich in ways that matter. I have learnt so much through writing. I have deepened my understanding of myself, of life. I have learnt so much about the real people I so often give voice to in my storytelling. Their histories are not dead to me – but throbbing with the pulse of life.

Creating itself throbs with life – something I wanted to show in my most recent novel, Shades of Yellow. A reader described my novel as a love letter to writing and, while it has other important layers, that is true. My character Lucy mirrors my passion as a writer. She echoes my beliefs as a writer. Like when Eric, the fictional agent of Lucy’s grandfather, suggests to Lucy to craft Elizabeth I as a witch.

 
She clicked her pen in thought. The silent house seemed to amplify the sound. Not wanting to disturb anyone, she put down the pen and recalled what Eric had said, You could make Elizabeth Tudor a witch.’ He laughed. ‘That would really stir the pot with the historical fiction purists. But it would also help sell the book.’

Not liking the suggestion at all, she considered a diplomatic answer. ‘I suspect there are already novels that tackle Elizabeth, the witch angle – especially since Henry VIII accused her mother of using witchcraft to snare him into her power.’ ‘It’s worth thinking about.’ He lifted his eyebrows as if in challenge.

Lucy picked up her pen and returned to her journal.
I don’t want to make Elizabeth a witch, even if it sells books. I don’t want to write a novel that goes against my beliefs or casts an undeserved shadow on the once living. Elizabeth wasn’t a witch. Neither was her mother. (1)

Years ago, I heard Sophie Masson, a respected and well-published Australian author, say at a HNSA conference that to be a writer is to be a lifelong learner. I thought then and think now, that this is so true, just as true Kundera’s words: ‘the writing of a novel takes up a whole era in a writer’s life, and when the labour is done he is no longer the person he was at the start’. 

Writing a novel does indeed change me and take an era of my life. My fastest time to complete a novel was the two years it took for me to write The Light in the Labyrinth. If I am to commit to a project, it must mean something to me. Otherwise, why am I sacrificing my time and energy to create this work?
Tillie Olsen wrote in her book Silences decades ago, ‘The world never asked you to write. My long ago and still instinctive response: What’s wrong with the world then, that it doesn’t ask - and make it possible – for people to raise and contribute the best that is in them’ 

One way I contribute what is best in me is by writing. But to write dictated by what is trending, why should I?

Wendy J Dunn

1: W.J. Dunn, 2025, Shades of Yellow.
2: Kundera, M. 2006, The Curtain: An Essay in Seven parts, HarperCollins Publishers, p. 61.
3: Olsen, T. 1978, Silences. New York, Delacorte Press/ Seymour Lawrence, p. 172..

# # #

About the Author 

Wendy J. Dunn is an award-winning Australian writer fascinated by Tudor history – so much so she was not surprised to discover a family connection to the Tudors, not long after the publication of her first Anne Boleyn novel, which narrated the Anne Boleyn story through the eyes of Sir Thomas Wyatt, the elder. Her family tree reveals the intriguing fact that one of her ancestral families – possibly over three generations – had purchased land from both the Boleyn and Wyatt families to build up their own holdings. It seems very likely Wendy’s ancestors knew the Wyatts and Boleyns personally. Find out more at www.wendyjdunn.com and find Wendy on Facebook, Instagram and Bluesky @wendyjdunn.bsky.social

Blog Tour: Circus Bim Bom: A Cold War Adventure by Cliff Lovette

Available for pre-order 

from Amazon UK and Amazon US

1990. The Soviet Empire is unraveling. A circus has just arrived in America. When the first privately owned Soviet circus arrived in America in 1990, as the Soviet Empire unraveled, its elite performers hoped to build cultural bridges through spectacular shows. Instead, this prestigious troupe faced a perilous journey through Cold War America.

Circus director Yuri had to navigate treacherous waters where American mobsters, Soviet agents, and political forces circled like predators. As high-stakes conspiracies threatened to tear the circus family apart, they confronted an impossible choice: the authoritarian chains of home or the uncertain promise of freedom.

Young aerialist Anton dreamed of becoming a clown against his family's wishes, while forbidden romances blossomed between Soviet performers and Americans who saw past the ideological divide.

Can human connection transcend ideology? Can storytelling bridge the divides that separate us?

As the Ringmaster reminds us, "The best Soviet stories are like vodka—they burn with suffering, intoxicate with conflict, keep you stewing in reflection, and leave you yearning for your heart's desire."

Based on true events the author learned in 1991, when the circus's American road manager became a client at his Atlanta entertainment law firm.

# # #

About the Author

Cliff Lovette is a father, storyteller, and dog lover living in Sandy Springs, Georgia, with London curled at his feet. Circus Bim Bom: A Cold War Adventure is the first book in his debut duology, followed by Circus Bim Bom: The Great Escape. Find out more at https://bimbombookclub.com/

Historical Fiction Spotlight: Catherine: A Retelling of Wuthering Heights, by Essie Fox

Available from Amazon UK and Amazon US

With a nature as wild as the moors she loves to roam, Catherine Earnshaw grows up alongside Heathcliff, a foundling her father rescued from the streets of Liverpool. Their fierce, untamed bond deepens as they grow – until Mr Earnshaw's death leaves Hindley, Catherine's brutal brother, in control and Heathcliff reduced to servitude.

Desperate to protect him, Catherine turns to Edgar Linton, the handsome heir to Thrushcross Grange. She believes his wealth might free Heathcliff from cruelty – but her choice is fatally misunderstood, and their lives spiral into a storm of passion, jealousy and revenge.

Now, eighteen years later, Catherine rises from her grave to tell her story – and seek redemption.

Essie Fox's Catherine reimagines Wuthering Heights with beauty and intensity – a haunting, atmospheric retelling that brings new life to a timeless classic and lays bare the dark heart of an immortal love.

`A dazzling feminist retelling of the greatest tragic love affair in fiction … gothic, defiant and heartbreakingly human´ Louisa Treger

`Passionate, vivid, utterly mesmerising … satisfyingly familiar and yet sparking with wild gothic originality´ Kate Griffin

 # # #

About the Author

Essie Fox was born and raised in rural Herefordshire, which inspires much of her writing. After studying English Literature at Sheffield University, she moved to London where she worked for the Telegraph Sunday Magazine, then the book publishers George Allen & Unwin – before becoming self-employed in the world of art and design. Always an avid reader, Essie now spends her time writing historical gothic novels. Her debut, The Somnambulist, was shortlisted for the National Book Awards, and featured on Channel 4’s TV Book Club. The Last Days of Leda Grey, set in the early years of silent film, was selected as The Times Historical Book of the Month. Her latest novel, The Fascination is based in Victorian country fairgrounds, the glamour of the London theatres, and an Oxford Street museum full of morbid curiosities. Essie is also the creator of the popular blog: The Virtual Victorian She has lectured on this era at the V&A, and the National Gallery in London. Find out more from Essie's website https://essiefox.com/ and find her on Facebook, Twitter @essiefox and Bluesky @essiefox.bsky.social