Blog Tour Spotlight: Some Starry Night, by Irene Latham

Available from Amazon UK and Amazon US

Under the pale glow of a Parisian spring in 1886, two restless souls move toward the same horizon-unaware that their meeting will ignite a love as luminous and fleeting as the stars themselves.

Vincent van Gogh arrives in Paris with little more than paint-stained hands and an aching determination to create something worthy of the world. Living in the cramped apartment of his brother Theo, he struggles against poverty, doubt, and the relentless pull of his own restless mind.

Across the ocean in Amherst, Emily Dickinson receives news that changes everything. Faced with the nearness of death, the reclusive poet does the unthinkable: she leaves the quiet safety of the Homestead and sails for Paris, determined to taste life before it slips beyond her reach.

When Emily agrees to sit for Vincent's portrait, their worlds collide in a blaze of color, poetry, and dangerous intimacy. Through letters, poems, and whispered confessions, the two artists discover in one another a fierce, unguarded understanding-one that will shape their art, their faith, and the fragile hours they have left.

But love between stars is never simple. As time grows short and darkness gathers, Vincent and Emily must decide whether beauty is meant to last...or simply to burn bright enough to change the night forever.

Some Starry Night is a sweeping, lyrical imagining of the hidden story behind Vincent van Gogh's most iconic painting-an unforgettable tale of love, creativity, and the courage to live fiercely, even in the shadow of the end.

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About the Author 

Irene Latham writes poems and stories from the Purple Horse Poetry Studio & Music Room in Blount County, Alabama. She is the author or co-author of many books for young people, including African Town, winner of the Scott O'Dell Award for Outstanding Historical Fiction.  This is her first novel for adults. Learn more at irenelatham.com 

Special Guest Interview with Susan Appleyard, Author of Escape of the Grand Duchess

Available from Amazon UK and Amazon US

 Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna is the youngest sister of Tsar Nicholas II—a Romanov who defied a doomed destiny and survived. Unlike her ill-fated brother and his family, Olga’s story is one of resilience, sacrifice, and daring escape. Trapped in a loveless marriage to a reckless gambler—who harbours secrets of his own—she finds hope in the arms of a dashing army lieutenant. But before she can claim her own happiness, she must first endure the brutal realities of World War I, where she serves as a nurse on the frontlines.

I'm pleased to welcome author Susan Appleyard to The Writing Desk:

Tell us about your latest book

Escape of the Grand Duchess relates the struggles of Olga, the younger sister of Tsar Nicholas II, from an opulent lifestyle to her unhappy marriage, World War I, the Russian Revolution when the murderous Bolsheviks began rounding up Romanovs for slaughter. Some were able to escape to the continent. Olga was one of the lucky ones. She and her young family eventually made their escape to safety in Canada.

What is your preferred writing routine?

I used to devote my mornings to writing, but now I’m not so disciplined. Honestly, I write when I feel like it.

What advice do you have for aspiring writers?

J.M.W Turner, famous English painter, said something to the effect that he imagines mountains and paints molehills. Your book will never be perfect. You could tinker with it to the end of time. Know when enough is enough. Just make it as perfect as you can.

What have you found to be the best way to raise awareness of your books?

I have done Bookbub ads and promotions on Facebook. Otherwise, my readership is organic.

Tell us something unexpected you discovered during your research 

Ether was first used as an anaesthetic in 1842, but before that the Babylonians, Persians, Chinese, Egyptians and others attempted to create a general anaesthetic.

What was the hardest scene you remember writing?

The last scene. How to end it? Where to end it?

What are you planning to write next?

I am currently working on the second draft of a book about Olga’s grandparents.

 

Susan Appleyard

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About the Author

Susan Appleyard was born in England, which is where she learned to love English history, and now lives in Canada in the summer. In winter she and her husband flee the cold for their second home in Mexico. Susan divides her time between writing and her hobby, oil painting, although writing will always be her first love. She was fortunate in having had two books published traditionally. Since joining the ebook crowd, she has published nine books, some of which have won various awards. Find out more at Susan's website, follow her blog and find her on Facebook and Instagram 

Royal Favourites of the Tudor and Stuart Age , By April Taylor

Available from Amazon UK 

and pre-order from Amazon US

Among the people you will meet in this book is John Morton, so accomplished at gathering taxes for Henry VII; some pubs are named after him. Physician William Butts, trusted by Henry VIII, and sent to Hever when Anne Boleyn caught the sweating sickness. 

Barnaby Fitzpatrick, closest friend of Edward VI. Susan Clarencius, Mistress of the Robes to Mary I and her closest friend. Blanche Parry who rocked Elizabeth I’s cradle and stayed in her service until she died, causing Elizabeth ‘enormous sorrow’. 

Christopher Hatton, so devoted to Elizabeth, he never married. George Villiers, loved by James I ‘more than any other man’.

Jane Whorwood, who did her utmost to help the imprisoned Charles I escape. Henry Jermyn, who became known as ‘the founder of the West End’. John Wilmot, an exceptionally clever man who ended life as a dissolute disgrace. 

Robert Harley, who built an incomparable collection of Saxon and Medieval texts now in the British Library. And not forgetting an accurate account of the life of Abigail Masham, devoted servant to Queen Anne.

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About the Author

April Taylor was born in Lincolnshire in the UK. Having caught the history bug from a young age, April has always been fascinated by the physical manifestation of times past, particularly those of the Tudor period. This interest deepened when April discovered one of the most important events of Henry VIII’s reign, the Lincolnshire Rebellion that led to the Pilgrimage of Grace in 1536, started eight miles from where she was born. Choosing a career in librarianship, April honed her research skills but always leant towards the history of the area in which she lived. This led to numerous talks to schools and local groups, especially in Worcester, yet another place of historic importance in the UK. April Taylor now lives near the rugged coast of north-east England in close proximity to one of the priories that fell victim to Henry VIII’s Reformation. She frequently walks her golden retriever in local forests using that time to work through complicated plotlines for her historical fiction. She sings in the medieval church and occupies her downtime dressmaking, cross-stitching and painting.

Book Launch Review: Roman Life on Hadrian’s Wall by Claire Millington

Available from Amazon UK and Amazon US

With a fascinating selection of images and thoughtful insights, this book will inform and change how you think about everyday Roman life at this remote frontier, the most-visited Roman remains in Britain.

Claire Millington’s Roman Life on Hadrian's Wall is a refreshing look at one of the most iconic frontiers in history. While many texts focus heavily on the battles fought and the stones laid, Claire shifts the focus to the lived experience of the people who called Hadrian's Wall home.

The strength of this book is its inclusivity. Claire Millington talks about the entire community, and shows how Hadrian's Wall became like a string of connected ‘villages’. By synthesizing archaeological evidence with a narrative flair, she reveals a bustling world of families and camp followers, including the women and children who lived in the vici (civilian settlements) outside the forts, and merchant traders who kept the frontier supplied.

l particularly liked the stories of the "small finds", such as discarded shoes, personal letters and household pottery. These fragments of the past are transformed from museum exhibits into entry points for understanding Roman anxieties, celebrations - and mundane routines.

Whether you are a Roman historian or a casual reader interested in British heritage, this book is accessible, with an engaging narrative. An essential addition to any history lover's bookshelf. Claire Millington reminds us the grandeur of Rome wasn't only built on conquest, but on the quiet, resilient lives of individuals stationed at the edge of the known world.

Tony Riches

(A review copy was kindly provided by Amberley Publishing)

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About the Author

Dr Claire Millington is a Roman archaeologist, academic and writer. She has written fiction, non-fiction and poetry ever since winning the BBC Jackanory poetry competition aged 6 ½. Her love of Roman archaeology was sparked during a posting to Rome for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, after which she undertook a master’s degree through the Open University. Her PhD is from King’s College London where she is a Visiting Research Fellow.  She is a huge public archaeology fan so she was thrilled to work on the Time Team excavations of Broughton Roman villa (2021 and 2022), as well as surveying and recording foreshore archaeology as a volunteer with the Museum of London Archaeology Thames Discovery Project, and excavating Roman forts at Vindolanda. Find out more at https://clairemillington.com/ and follow Claire on Bluesky @clairemillington.bsky.social

Book launch Spotlight: The Jewel Keepers, by Sara Sheridan

Available from Amazon UK and Amazon US

Men would kill for this treasure.The McKenzie women will guard it 

with their lives.

London, 1837:  When 25-year-old Araminta McKenzie-Moore is summoned from Richmond to her great aunt's deathbed in Edinburgh, it's the first time she's met her extended family. The McKenzie women, however, have been keeping a close eye on her. For they have a long, secret and dangerous history as Jewel Keepers to the Scottish Crown and they need Araminta to play her part to solve a puzzle which stretches back generations.

But the McKenzies are not alone in this high-stakes treasure hunt though history. They're being pursued. The last of her line, if Araminta succeeds, she will uncover something more valuable than mere jewels - a secret that will change the lives of all women living on this, the cusp of the Queen Victoria's rule.

Featuring real historical events and places amid its fiction, The Jewel Keepers is an immersive, evocative story tinged with romance and brimming with intrigue.

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About the Author

Sara Sheridan works in a wide range of media and genres but mostly historical and especially the stories of women. She loves exploring where our culture comes from. In 2018 she remapped Scotland according to women's history. Tipped in Company and GQ magazines, she was nominated for a Young Achiever Award. She has received a Scottish Library Award and has been shortlisted for the Saltire Book Prize and the Wilbur Smith Prize. Her work was included in the David Hume Institute's Summer Reading list 2019. She has sat on the committee for the Society of Authors in Scotland (where she lives) and on the board of '26' the campaign for the importance of words. She took part in 3 '26 Treasures' exhibitions at the V&A, London, The National Museum of Scotland and the Museum of Childhood in Bethnal Green. She occasionally blogs for the Guardian about her writing life, the Huffington Post about her activism as a writer and a feminist and puts her hand up to being a 'twitter evangelist'. From time to time she appears on radio, and has reported for BBC Radio 4's From Our Own Correspondent from both Tallin and Sharjah. Sara is a member of the Society of Authors and the Historical Writers Association. Find out more at Sara's website https://www.sarasheridan.com/

Book Launch Guest Post by Alison Morton, Author of HEROICA: Three women, three centuries, three reckonings (Roma Nova Thriller Series Book 12)

Available from Amazon UK and Amazon US

Even the strongest state is vulnerable to its past: Three stories of the women of the Mitela family, descendants of the founders of Roma Nova, bound by blood and courage.

“What inspires you?” is a question I’m frequently asked in many guest posts, in podcast interviews, or at conferences. Perhaps the people asking are writers themselves, or wish to make a connection on an artistic and creative level or want to know the answer to life, the universe and everything. That last one’s easy: 42. (Apologies to The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.) 

Let’s be serious. Well, for a moment.  I dread this question, not because I don’t want to reveal the secret identity of my silken-gowned muse, nor divulge her equally secret pearls of wisdom. Am I frightened she might run away, never to be seen again? No, I don’t want to let readers down with my answer. 

I confess – I don’t know. 

An inspiring thought or emotion can be anything and come from anywhere. For me, it’s like being ambushed. I often don’t have a clue until it drops into my head. When it does, it’s something shallow and mundane like being held on the phone in a queue, spotting a bargain or scoffing at a mistranslation at a tourist site. 

The long burn 

The Roma Nova books originated from a decades’ long fascination with Ancient Rome and women’s roles in the modern world but given it took more than thirty years to get the first words onto the computer screen (bypassing the typewriter), it can hardly be called a *moment* of inspiration. It was a slow-growing, but persistent, climbing plant. 

Fortuna, Capitoline Museum, Rome (Author photo)

Like all authors, whether they admit it or not, I drew on events, people and experiences from my life up to that moment to write that first book, INCEPTIO. We are all shaped by these experiences and by our background and values. 

Alison in the military 

There will always be a little bit of the author in her book however much any author claims to deny it. And if we don’t show that in our main character, we switch it into another prominent secondary character. We all live in our own little world at the centre of which is our own delightful/dreadful ego, so any self-expression like writing is bound to reflect it. 

Readers and bets 

After nine Roma Nova thrillers featuring tough and lively heroines, my readers demanded I write the foundation story of Roma Nova. Thus inspired, that spilled out into two books – JULIA PRIMA and EXSILIUM – set in the fourth century. 

In between, I wrote three modern thrillers based on Mel/Mélisende, a dual national Franco-British special forces heroine working for a European security service. Writing them was triggered (inspired?) by a bet from fellow author Conn Iggulden who had given me a fabulous front of cover endorsement for the fifth Roma Nova thriller, INSURRECTIO. 

So…HEROICA, out today(!) 

This new book of three stories was a case of inspiration via curiosity. I wanted to write a story featuring my original heroine, Carina, in one of her investigations. Her professional life wasn’t spent entirely on saving her country, but like most law enforcers had its fair number of routine cases. Of course, being Carina, the case turned out to be anything but routine.  

Why isn’t Revolution? a full-length novel? Because the story ended when it did. We can’t always insist on dragging a story out to 100,000 words when it doesn’t naturally end at 24,000. But what to do with it? It’s too long to be a short story and compared to my two novellas – CARINA (38,000 words) and NEXUS (39,000 words) – not enough for a novella. So I thought about adding a couple of historical long short stories from Roma Nova’s past, but staying within Carina’s family in order to have a connecting thread running through them.  

Honoria’s Battle is set near Vienna when that city was being besieged for the second time by forces from the Ottoman Empire. It was hailed as an existential fight by Christian Europe against the tide of Moslem Turks. Historians continue to disagree about the battle’s significance but to people of the time it was one of survival. Of course, Roma Nova was going to be involved! Researching characters such as the ebullient John Sobieski, King of Poland and the best commander of his day, was fascinating. 

The Idealist connects with Giuseppe Mazzini’s attempt to form a new Roman Republic and unite Italy in the nineteenth century – another time of crisis and transition. It’s also the story of unrealistic expectations, family secrets and pragmatism. The inspiration was curiosity about the past and wondering what a terrible threat of the past coming back to bite those in the present would do to them. 

In brief 

Inspiration for me is a formless cloud, wisps, really, wafting around in my mind with no fixed abode. It takes something to come along – a bad film, five words in an email from a Very Famous Author, idle attention to a television report of a coup – to get the cloud to clump and produce a bolt of lightning. Usually, it’s a little crackle at the back of the sky that grows into a steady blaze. 

Alison Morton

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About the Author

Alison Morton writes award-winning thrillers featuring tough but compassionate heroines. Her twelve-book Roma Nova series is set in an imaginary European country where a remnant of the Roman Empire has survived into the 21st century and is ruled by women who face conspiracy, revolution and heartache but use a sharp line in dialogue. She blends her fascination for Ancient Rome with six years’ military service and a life of reading crime, historical and thriller fiction. On the way, she collected a BA in modern languages and an MA in history. Alison lives in Poitou in France, the home of Mélisende, the heroine of her two contemporary thrillers, Double Identity, Double Pursuit and Double Stakes For the latest news, subscribe to her newsletter at https://www.alison-morton.com/newsletter/ and receive 'Welcome to Alison Morton’s Thriller Worlds’ as a thank you gift.  Connect with Alison on her World of Thrillers site: https://alison-morton.com and Alison’s writing blog https://alisonmortonauthor.com/. You can find Alison on Facebook, Instagram, BlueSky @alisonmorton.bsky.social and Twitter/X: @alison_morton

Charlotte Brontë and Elizabeth Gaskell: Their Lives, Friendship and Writings, by Susan Dunne

Available from Amazon UK 

and pre-order Amazon US

Charlotte Brontë and Elizabeth Gaskell illuminate a powerful 19th century friendship whose influence reshaped literary legacy and critical perception.

Charlotte Brontë and Elizabeth Gaskell shared one of the most remarkable literary friendships of the 19th century, one that ultimately led to the creation of one of the most controversial literary biographies ever written. 

The life of Charlotte Brontë continues to spark debate over 150 years after its publication, but the deeper story of the friendship that inspired it has never been fully explored until now. In this fascinating and well-researched narrative, the intertwined lives of these two literary greats come to life. What drew them together despite their contrasting personalities? 

How did they influence each other’s work, navigate the challenges of publishing, and contend with the harsh judgment of critics? Did Elizabeth Gaskell’s well-meaning interventions, both personal and professional, shape the course of Charlotte’s life in ways never before considered? 

Through letters, historical records, and fresh insights, this book reveals the warmth, respect, and complexities of their brief but profound connection. A tale of admiration, resilience, and literary legacy, it sheds new light on the enduring impact of a friendship that helped shape our understanding of one of literature’s most beloved figures.

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About the Author

Susan Dunne was born near Manchester and lives near Haworth. A lifelong Brontë and Gaskell enthusiast, she wrote her undergraduate thesis on the portrayal of the working class in Elizabeth Gaskell and studied Victorian literature at postgraduate level. She has worked- amongst other things - as a teacher and journalist, her work appearing in numerous regional and national publications.